A Perambulation of the Antient and Royal Forest of Dartmoor and the Venville Precincts: Or a ...

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PERAMBULATION

OF THE

ANTIENT AND ROYAL

FOREST OF DARTMOOR,

AND THE

VENVILLE PRECINCTS,

OR A

TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE ANTIQUITIES AND SCENERY ;

WITH NOTICES OF THE

NATURAL HISTORY, CLIMATE, AND AGRICULTURAL CAPABILITIES, AND A VALUABLE

COLLECTION OF ANTIENT DOCUMENTS.

BY SAMUEL ROWE, A.M.

VICAR OF CBEDITOH, DBVON ; AMD MBMBBB OF THB PLYMOUTH IDBT1TVTION.
THB ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BT 0. F. WILLIAMS, EXETER.

A wild and wondrous region. — Carrmgton.

PLYMOUTH :

PUBLISHED BY J. B. ROWE,
AND HAMILTON, ADAMS AND Co. LONDON.

1848.

r~

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS,

ALBERT, PRINCE OF WALES,

AND

DUKE OF CORNWALL,

THIS DESCRIPTION OF THE ANTIQUITIES, AND TOPOGRAPHY,

OF HIS FOREST OF DARTMOOR, DEVON,

it Jnimftlj) ttrtfratrt bg tit sraefon* ptvmiiiion

OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT,

MASTER FORESTER,

AND LORD WARDEN OF THE STANNARIES,

BY HIS LOYAL, FAITHFUL AND HOST OBEDIENT SERVANT,

SAMUEL ROWE.

Vicarage, CretHton, Devon,
M>j Vltk, 1848.

EXCURSIONS.

Excursion I. — Sticklepath, Taw Marsh, Cosdon Hill, Clannaborough
Common, Wotesbrook, Hound Tor, Scorhill Down, Watern Tor, Thirlstone,
Oanmcre Pool, Fenworthy, Gidleigh Park, Chagford.

II. — Holy-Street, Chagford Bridge, Shilston Cromlech, Bradmere Pool,
Drewsteignton Logan Stone, Fingle Bridge, Prestonbury Castle, Cranbrook Castle,
Whiddon Park, Chagford.

1H. — Jesson, Broadmoor Mires, Grey Wethers, Sittaford Tor, South Teign.

IV. — Moreton, Mardon Down, Wooston Castle, Vale of Teign, Clifford
Bridge, Donsford Bridge, Blackystone, Heltor, Bridford, Skattor, Moreton.

V. — Lustleigh, Bottor Rock, Becky Fall, Manaton, North Bovey, Moreton.

VI. — Bowerman's Nose, Houndtor, Heytor, Bcctor Cross, Moretou.

VII. — King's Oven, Shapely Common, Vitifer Mine, Challacombe Down,
Grinispound, Hamildon, Widdecombe, Rippon Tor, Answell Rock, Ashburton.

VIII. — Holne Bridge, Holne Chase, Buckland in the Moor, Sharpitor,
Rowbrook, Yartor, Brimps, Dartmeet, Hexworthy Bridge, Cumsdon Tor, Holne,
Henbury Castle, Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastlcigh.

IX. — Dean Gate, Dean Burn, Huntingdon Cross, Knattleburrow, Abbot's
Way, River Avon, Shipley Bridge, Coryndon Ball, South Brent, Three Burrow
Tor, Butterton Hill, Western Beacon, Ivybridge.

X. — Harford, Sharpitor, Erme Plains, Erme Head, Grimsgrove, Langcombc
Bottom, Yealm Head and River, Broadall Down, Pen Beacon, Shell Top,
Cholwich Town, Goodamoor, Hemerdon Ball, Shaugh Prior, Trowlsworthy,
Cadaford Bridge, Dewerstone Rock, Shaugh Bridge, Boringdon Camp, Plympton
Earl.

EXCURSIONS.

XL — Plympton St. Mary, Plyin Bridge, Bickleigh Vale, Roborough Down,
Meavy, Sheepstor, Eylesburrow, Si ward's Cross, Fox Tor, ('lacy well Pool,
Black Tor, Stanlake, Priucc Town, Two Bridges.

XII. — Crockcrn Tor, Parliament Rock, Dennabridge Pound, Bellevor Tor,
Lakehead Hill, Bellevor Bridge, Post Bridge, Archcrton, Chittaford Down,
Wistman's Wood, Baredown, Ficc's Well, Prince Town, Tor Royal, Mistor British
Town, Great Mistor, Steeple Tors, Vixen Tor, Vale of the Walkham, Pewtor,
Tavistock.

XIII. — Ilia's Coombe, Mount Tavy, Cocks Tor, Petcrtavy, Lints Tor,
Furtor, Watern Oak, Tavy Cleave, Marytavy, Tavistock,

XIV.— Hcathfield Down, Brcntor, Lydford Fall and Bridge, Kate's Fall,
Lydford Borough and Castle, Doctor, Sourton Tor, Stcngator, Willinghayes,
Yestor, Miltor, Okehampton Castle, Okchampton.

XV. — Okelands, Okehampton Park, Rowtor, Holstock, Cliapcl Ford, Belstone
Tor, Nine Stones, Belstone, Belstone Cleave, Okehampton.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.
Borders of Dartmoor, Frontispiece

Drewsteignton Cromlech, Vignette

Map of Dartmoor 1

Grimspound 44

Cyclopean Bridge 48

Sacred Circle 72

Rock Pillar 78

Stone Avenue 79

Tolmen 82

Rock Idol 122

Kistvaen 123

Logan Stone 139

PREFACE.

An Essay on the most prominent objects of antiquarian interest,
in the Forest of Dartmoor, was originally read before the Plymouth
Institution in the year 1828, as the result of the united researches
of a few members* of that Society, who at different times had
pursued their investigations in a district which, although within a
few miles of their town, was little known to the neighbourhood and
the county in general. The paper drawn up at the request of my
esteemed coadjutors, was subsequently published in the Transactions
of the Society. Since that time I have endeavoured to prosecute the
investigations thus begun, for the most part with the able assistance
of my valued friend the President of the Institution, at such intervals
as scanty leisure and few opportunities would permit ; hence, abundant
materials have been collected for expanding the original essay into
the present volume.

The publication has been undertaken with the view of rendering
the numerous objects of interest, with which the great moorland
district of the West abounds, more generally known and appreciated,
in the persuasion that within its limits there is enough to repay, not
only the historian and antiquary, but also the scientific investigator,
for the task of exploring the mountain-wastes of the Devonshire
wilderness. The characteristic tors, capping the hills with their
massive granite piles, supply an interesting field of study to the geolo-
gist — Wistman's Wood, primitive and peculiar, affords an unique
specimen to the botanist — and the aboriginal circumvallation of G rims-
pound, one equally singular, to the antiquary. It is not difficult to

• Henry Woollcombc, Esq., (President); Col. Hamilton Smith, L«\ K. S. ; John
Pridcaux, Esq. ; and Rcr. Samuel Rowc.

11 PREFACE.

imagine that relics so remarkable, if situated in a far distant land,
would be sought out, chronicled, and described, for the information of
the learned and gratification of the curious ; whilst in our own country,
objects as fully calculated to illustrate the most antient periods of
British history, as are the extraordinary ruins at Palenque that of
Central America, are overlooked and neglected, as it would seem, for
no other reason than their proximity, and facility of access.

The tourist, who ventures to penetrate the Devonshire High-
lands, will also find himself greeted with a succession of scenes of
unexpected loveliness and grandeur, especially along the entire verge
of the Moor, many of them rivalling the far-famed scenery of North
Wales, but distinguished by characteristic features of peculiar beauty.
Nor have they been thought unworthy of admiration by more than one
traveller fresh from the charms of Continental magnificence and sub-
limity, with whom I have visited the precincts of Dartmoor. My
own opinion may be attributed to partiality for my native county, and
to untravelled ignorance of

The Alps and Apennine,
The Pyrenean and the river Po ;

but when it is fortified by the recorded sentiments of strangers, and
by such competent and impartial authority as that of William Howitt,
I feel justified, in specially referring to Devonshire, the pertinent
expostulation which has been made with so much propriety in
reference to Great Britain generally.

Pilgrims of beauty, ye, who far away
Roam where poetic deserts sadly smile,
Oh ! ere you leave it, view your own fair native Isle.

The testimony of a native of Scotland, a writer of some ten years
ago, in Blackwood's Magazine, who is evidently well acquainted
with the district he describes, may here be adduced.

" West Devonshire is that large tract of land comprised between
the Dartmoor mountains, the rivers Tamar and Plym, and the
Plymouth Sound; and illustrious for the number, narrowness, and
depth of the larger valleys, — whose banks generally rise into a flat
ascent, from the banks of the dividing streams, — and for many down-
like swells and many strangely fractured hills. You may know how
dear this district was to us, last time we wandered through its delights,

when we tell you that we often forgot where we vera wandering, and
believed that we were holydaying it in one of the half lowland, half
highland regions, among the blue bonnets of Auld Scotland. • • •
Dartmoor, — we have nothing like it in Scotland. Our moor of
Bannoch is a vast flat. * * But Dartmoor is no flat. It is indeed
an elevated table land ; but its undulations arc endless ; there are no
separate single masses, nor can it be called mountainous ;* but it is
as if a huge mountain had been squeezed down, and in the process
had split asunder, till the whole was one hilly wilderness, showing
ever and anon strange half-buried shapes striving to uplift themselves
towards the sky."

To the same effect, but in a still more enthusiastic strain, is the
panegyric of William Howitt, in his Rural Life of England.

" If you want sternness and loneliness, you may pass into
Dartmoor. There are wastes and wilds, crags of granite, views into
far off districts, and the sound of waters hurrying away over tneir
rucky beds, enough to satisfy the largest hungering and thirsting after
poetical delight. I shall never forget the feelings of delicious
cntrancement with which I approached the outskirts of Dartmoor. I
found myself amidst the woods near Hay tor Crags. It was an autumn
evening. The sun near its setting, threw its yellow beams among the
rid lit up the tors on the opposite side of the valley into
a beautiful glow. Below, the deep dark river went sounding on its
way with a melancholy music, and as I wound up the steep road all
beneath the gnarled oaks, I ever and anon caught glimpses of the
winding valley to the left, all beautiful with wild thickets and half
shrouded faces of rock, and still on high those glowing ruddy tors
standing in the blue air in their sublime silence. My road wound
up and up, the heather and the bilberry on cither hand, showing me
that cultivation had never disturbed the soil they grew in ; and one
sole woodlark from the far ascending forest on the right filled the
wide solitude with his wild autumnal note. At that moment I reached
an eminence, and at once saw the dark crags of Dartmoor liigh aloft
before me."

Such ts the verdict of a popular author, unbiassed by local

' Yet lie hoi just uUcil llic Darlmobi ridge, "

vide supra.

IV PREFACE.

partialities, and conversant with the romantic loveliness of the Rhine
and the stupendous magnificence of the Alps. And such is the
district for which the author thinks himself justified in venturing
to claim a foremost place among the scenes which

England holds
Within her world of beauty,

in the hope that the charms of our Devonian highlands will be more
generally known and appreciated, and the interesting monuments of
antiquity which they shelter, will be more effectually protected
against the manifold modes of spoliation and destruction which have
arisen from multiplied population, increasing commercial speculations,
and economic improvements. The venerable relics of past ages
(like the antient Britons, retreating before overpowering numbers,)
have been pursued from one asylum to another, until the moun-
tainous districts of the western and south-western portions of the
island afford them their last and only refuge. But their rocky
citadel is no longer secure. Quarries are opened on the heights of
Dartmoor — powder-mills are projected in the very heart of its
solitudes — cultivation is smiting its corners — steam is marshalling
his chariots of iron, and coursers of fire, panting to penetrate its
fastnesses, — and the most interesting vestiges of antiquity are in hourly
danger of destruction. An account of the district which contains
them (in a more systematic form than has yet been attempted) may at
least preserve their memory, or perhaps more happily, may be the
means of rescuing them from the impending assaults of the mason's
hammer, and the excavator's pick, and of perpetuating their existence
by pointing out their claims to the protection of all who feel becoming
interest in the history of their country and of mankind.

I'

J X .

-0

*

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Regions like (his. which have come down to us rude and untouched from Iho
spinning of time, fill the iniud with grand conceptions. far beyond the efforts of art and
cultivation. Hi l tin.

ARTMOOR, whilst it forms in itself the
most conspicuous and characteristic feature
1 the physical geography of the county of
| Devon, contributes also, in no small degree,
to partitioning this important shire into three
principal divisions, which, general] v speak-
ing, are no less clearly defined by natural
boundaries, than distinctly marked by pecu-
liar features. From its extreme northern
verge, North Devon* stretches to the Bristol
flannel — the Teign sweeps round its eastern extremity within six
miles of the Exe, (the well-defined boundary of East Devon) whilst
South Devon or the South Hamsf includes the fertile tract stretching
from the southern slope of the Moor to the English Channel, and
extending east and west from the Teign to the Tamar. Thus
centrally placed, Dartmoor forms the most prominent aud striking
feature, not only of the county of Devon (occupying as it does one-

• The Devonshire tonrist will, however, often find himself perplexed to ascertain
whether he liaa reached North Devon or not. But "the North" has long been prorer-
I't.itcd for the inderinitenesa of its whereabout, and the vagueness of the term
a by no means confined to Devonshire.

Ask Where's the North f At York "Us on the Tweed,
In Scotland, at the Oreades; — and there
In Iceland, Zcuilila, — or, no soul knows where. Tors,
t South Devon is sometimes thug designated, but strictly speaking, the term Soul*
Ifami is appropriated to a smaller district,— and a civcle, of which Toiuees is thfl centre,
-ilh a radius of twelve or fourteen mile*, would, p-erhaps, most nearly approach to its
;ne rally received limits.

2 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

fifth of its entire area,) but of the whole Western peninsula. Yet,
though contributing so largely to the beauty of the far famed
Devonshire scenery, and ministering so effectually to the fertility
of the soil, it is comparatively little known, even to the inhabitants
of the very district which benefits so largely from its proximity.

Dartmoor Proper, or the antient and royal Forest
extent nd £ ^^ name, is defined by specific boundaries, but

BOUNDARIES. ' J r . .

as there are numerous outlying tracts presenting
the same physical features as the forest itself, it is intended to include,
in the present description, the adjacent common lands which partake
of the same general character.

Dartmoor and its adjuncts may thus be estimated, as extending
about 20 miles from east to west, and 22 miles from north to south,
and as containing more than 130,000 acres of land. De la Beche,
the eminent geologist, calculates the distance from Butterton Hill
on the south, to Cosdon Beacon in the north, at 22 miles, and
observes, that, " both geographically and geologically, the elevated
land which extends eastward from Cawsand Beacon to Cranbrook
Castle, Buttern Down and Mardon Down, near Moreton Hampstead,
ranging round thence by Bridford and Hennoek to High or Hey
Tor, forms part of Dartmoor." From Hey Tor above Hsington
Church-town in a S. W. direction, the boundary takes the line of hills
which overlook Ashburton. Thence, skirting the parishes of Holne,
Buckfastleigh, and Brent, it proceeds to its southernmost point at the
Western Beacon, and Three Burrow Tor, above Ivybridge. Thence
trending to the north west, it crosses the rivers Erme and Yealm,
passes by Cornwood, below Pen Beacon and Shell Top, — then takes
a westerly course in the line of the Hentor ridge and Shaugh moor,
approaches its westernmost point at Meavy, and thence runs almost
from south to north, by Walkhampton, Sampford Spiney, west of the
Tavy, to Peter Tavy, Mary Tavy and Sourton, thence to Okehampton
and Belstone, where at its northernmost point it reaches Cosdon or
Cawsand Beacon, and returns eastward as above described.

The whole forest of Dartmoor lies within the parish of Lydford,*

* Rex habet burgum de Lidford, et burgensea ibidem tenant vigint. et octo
burgenses infra burgum, et 41 extra, &c. Inter omnes redditua reddant tres libras ad

I-KKAMHULATION UY A.I). 1248.

by lar ihe largest in the county." " In Edward the Confessor's days
it was the king's demesne," says Risdon, but in after-times it became
an appanage of the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall. When
then ii no heir apparent the forest reverts to the custody of the
crown. Our indefatigable topographer quotes an antient document
to show the former importance of the borough and manor of Lydford,
and the extent of the forest of Dartmoor. On this, however, Lysons
remarks, "it appears by a record, which lie (Risdon) quotes, that it
was a forest in the time of William the Conqueror ; he does not tell
where the record exists. The first part of it relating to Lydford,
corresponds with the Survey of Domesday, but Dartmoor is not
mentioned in that survey. It is called a forest in the record of 1338,
and its boundaries were laid out by perambulation, in the following
year."*

The learned antiquary to whom this work is indebted for pre-
fatory remarks on a collection of interesting antient documents,
(Appendix VIII. J observes that nothing but the borough of Lydford
is noticed in Domesday. The absence of any notice " of the royal
castle and manor, with the forest which from time immemorial has
been appendant to them," is accounted for, as it is pertinently argued,
by the fact that it was in the hands of the king, and that an unculti-
vated tract of land like that of Dartmoor, was under no circumstances
likely to find its way into the enumeration of lands in Domesday.

The Castle of Lydford and the Forest of Dartmoor

antient having been granted by Henry III. to his brother

PEBAH- Richard, Earl of Cornwall and Poictou, the afore-

Bur.ATiON. said perambulation was made, by authority, in the

twenty-fourth year of his reign, A.D. 1-48, and

verified by the solemn oaths of the twelve Perambulators, whose

names are specified in the document, a copy whereof and of another

pentam, el stflumm, et sunt ibi qiindraRuiti domus Taslata, priusqunm Hex vei'it in
Anglia, et pnedicl. bnreensen et manerinm de Lidford ae extendi! per toum *ill«ni
el parnchium de Lidford, et per loinm forresiam clc Dartmoor.

This is from Risdon, but Ihe fullawinR is from the original

Eton Damuday, page 8U. Rex hnbet nniim burgiiin qui tocatiir Lidnforda quern
trmtit Bdwardua rex ea die qua ipse fnit vivus et mortuna. Ibi babel rex vigiuu OCtO
biugenaw infra bnrpim et form quadraRinta ununi et isli reddunl per annum ire* libra*.
iU pensum regi, et ibi sunt quadrating damns v astute poBlqnftiu Willielmns lex habuit
Angliani et aapndicti burgensea habent terrain ad duns eurmcas foras eiviialem. Et si
•XH-lttin vadit per terrain vel per mare reddit lantum dc aervilio quantum Tulcuuia
read it mi [isrustflpla.

* Ltwnb, Miuj. Brit., Devon, val. ii., p. 314.

4 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

survey made in the reign of James I., A.D. 1609, are given in the
appendix, (Documents, No. VI. and XII.) From these interesting
records, it appears that the Commissioners began their perambulation
at Cosdon Hill in the North Quarter, and proceeded south-eastward,
skirting the bounds of Throwleigh, Gidleigh, and Chagford, to the
point where the North joins the East Quarter, near Fenworthy.
From hence, southward, the forest boundary runs deep into the
moorlands, leaving Moreton six miles to the east, and crossing the
road from that town to Two Bridges and Tavistock, below King's
Oven, * follows the course of the Wallabrook, until that stream falls
into the East Dart, which becomes the boundary as far as Dartmeet.
Leaving the West Dart, the line intersects the extensive moors in the
South Quarter above Holne, — proceeding to the springs of the Avon,
and thence to the Erme. Passing the Erme, and leaving Yealm
Head on the south, the boundary proceeds northwards to Siward's
Cross, enters the West Quarter, makes for Hessary Tor, and from
thence mounts to Great Mistor. Thence across the Walkham and
Tavy, it goes up the Rattlebrook, passes over the West Ockment,
below Yestor to the verge of Okehampton Park, crosses the East
Ockment at Halstock below Belstone, and returns to the starting
point at Cosdon.

The Venville, or Fenfield districts, and those wastes f antiently
known as the " Commons of Devonshire," are also mentioned in the
presentment of the Jury of the Survey Court for the Forest, made in
the sixth year of King James I., A.D. 1609. Bisdon enumerates
the bounds and limits of the Fenfield men's tenures, beginning
from Podaston Lake, running through Ashburton, and so through
various places specified " to Ashborne, and so from thence in stream of
Dart." But it would be difficult, if not impossible, to identify the
names thus enumerated with existing places ; so that little available
information on those points can be gleaned from his statement. But a

* Furnum Regis, King's Oven or Furnace. Probably an antient smelting or
blowing house.

f In the forest, as well as in the venville commons, there have been from antient
times certain inclosed lands called new-takes, as appears from accounts rendered by the
officers of the forest and manor. The sums paid for these holdings are entered as new
rents, and the tenure is called Land-bote. It is curious to observe that many of these
new-takes (in the time of Henry VII.) contained no more than a single acre of land,
Appendix No. VIII. For an explanatory notice of the use of this word landbote, in
western rentals, see the ArchaologicalJournal, April, 1848.

vF.wiT.r.E Botrara.

notion of Venville bounds will he gained by an enumeration
of the parishes in VeiiciUe, which on examination will be found to lie
immediately round the Moor. Beginning in the north, and proceeding
eastward, we shall find them to be Bel stone, South Tawton, Throw-
feigh, Gidleigh, Chagibrd, North Bovey, Manaton, Widdecombc,
Holne, Buckfastleigh, Dean Prior, South Brent, Shaugh Prior,
Meuvy, Sheepstor, Walkhampton, Snmpibrd Spiney, Whitchurch,
Cudliptown (in Tavistock), Taverton ty thing, Peter Tavy, Lydford,
Bridestow, Sourton.

The Venville tenures seem to have originally grown out of tres-
passes on the Forest. By the survey of 35 Edward I., among the
proceeds of the Forest arc included 4/. 10s. for fines of the villagers,
and pasturage of cattle. " In 17 Elte. an account was taken of the
fines which had then grown to be fixed rents, and they amounted to
41. lis. 4\d. They arc payable at the Court Baron, held by the
iV put v-stcward of the Forest, originally at Lydford Castle, but since
it* being ruinous, at Prince Town, Dartmoor, where homage-jurors
are sworn in, surrenders taken, and grants made to the free and
customary tenants."*

The Forest is divided into four quarters, — east, west, north, and
south, in each of which except the western is a pound for stray cattle.
There arc some curious remains of feudal customs in the service, wliieh
\ ille men above mentioned render to the Prince of Wales as
the Forest, and by virtue of which they hold in venville, under
!lv. As tenants of the Prince they arc liable to the service of
I he Moor, for trespasses in the Forest, once yearly in each quar-
ter, (with an additional one in each quarter for colts), after receiving
through the Forest Reeve from the Deputy-auditor, who fixes
u ! time, which is somewhere between New and Old Midsummer
Day.f They also do suit and homage at the Prince's courts, and are
required to present all defaults in the Forest and its purlieus. Their
privileges, on the other hand, are pasturage on the Moor, at a fixed
rate, — " a right to take away any thing off the Forest that may do them
good, except vert; and also to fish in all waters, and to dig turf in any

6 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

place." They are further exempt from tollage in all fairs and markets
throughout England, except London, Totness, and Barnstaple ; and
from attachment by any officer except for the yearly rent of four-pence
at Michaelmas and Christmas."* The drifts at which the Venville
men are required to assist, are for the purpose of ascertaining what
stock is within the bounds, in order that the Forest may not be
trespassed on by unlicensed cattle.

The bounds of the Royal Forest, and the adjacent
natural Commons and Moorlands, comprehend the district

FEATURES. , . _ „ _ , . . *

which forms the subject of the present account,
under the general name of Dartmoor, so called, probably, from one of
the principal of those numerous streams, of which it is the prolific
parent. The whole of this large tract of land, rises conspicuously
above the surrounding country. Its appearance is singularly char-
acteristic and picturesque, on whatever side it may be approached
from the adjacent lowlands. The bard of Dartmoor, with the eye of
an accurate observer, and with the feeling of a genuine poet,
describes as one of its prominent characteristics, the belt

Of hills, mysterious, shadowy,

by which it is encircled, as with a natural rampart, whilst it is moated
by deep valleys, which wind around its base, and are replenished by
streams, pouring down from the heights in every direction.

This primaeval circumvallation comprehends within its stupen-
dous inclosure, an elevated table land, which is not strictly a plain,
but a series of hemispherical swellings or undulations, gradually
overtopping each other, and here and there interrupted by deep
depressions, yet without forming what may be properly called distinct
mountains. " To a person standing on some lofty point of the Moor,
it wears the appearance of an irregular broken waste, which may
best be compared to the long rolling waves of a tempestuous ocean, fixed
into solidity by some instantaneous and powerful impulse." It is thus
with much graphic accuracy, the author of the Notes to Carrington's
Dartmoor, paraphrases Gilpin's compendious description of the Moor-
land district of Devon, who says, " Dartmoor spreads like the ocean

* Preface to Carringtoris Dartmoor,

NATURAL FEATURES. 7

after a storm heaving in large swells."* Even at a distance it wears
this billowy aspect, which in every zone, according to Humboldt, is
the characteristic of primitive chains.

Mr. John Prideaux, an eminent member of the Plymouth
Institution, in a paper published in the Transactions of that Society,
faithfully sketches the geological features of the southern quarter of
the Moor, which, as he justly remarks, " will apply to the whole." It is
entirely mountainous, the highest hills being on the borders, where
some of them attain the height of nearly 2000 feet.f The valleys run
in various directions, but have a tendency upon the whole to the
north and south line. The hills rise often steep, sometimes precipi-
tous, — their sides clothed with long grass, except where rushes or
moss indicate subjacent bogs ; and often strewed with loose blocks of
granite, from fifty or more tons, down to the size of a flag-stone. A
crag, called a Tar, usually projects at the summit of the hill, having a
very striking appearance of stratification; the fissures being some-
times horizontal, more commonly a little inclined. This stratified
character is not less general in the quarries, where, although there
are none of those marked divisions, indicative of intermissions, in the
original depositions of the rock, the stone always comes out in beds.
The dip is different in different hills, but seems to have a prevailing
tendency towards east and south.J

De la Beche more concisely describes Dartmoor as " an elevated
mass of land, of an irregular form, broken into numerous minor hills,
many crowned by groups of picturesque rocks, provincially termed
tors ; § and for the most part presenting a wild mixture of heath, bog,
rocks, and rapid streams."

• Carrington's Dartmoor Notes.

f Cosdon Beacon, 1792 feet above the sea level, was generally considered the
highest point on Dartmoor until De la Beche published his Report on the Geology of
Cornwall, Devon, and West Somerset, wherein he estimates Yes Tor at 2050 feet, and
Amicombe Hill at 2000.

Transactions Plym. Inst. 1830, p. 20.

Like most other provincial terms, tor is a relic of the antient language of the
country, preserved in the vernacular of the common people. It is found in both dialects
of the antient British tongues : Cornish tor, Welsh twr, as well as in Ir. Gael tor — a
tower, heap, or pile. In addition to these it is traced by the learned Bosworth (Anglo-
Sax. Diet, in voc) to the Dutch toren, Old German turre turen, Danish taarn (which
is almost Devonian, as our moormen pronounce the word tar, and not tor) Swedish torn,
Ac. So that it is found in all the cognate Teutonic dialects, as well as in the Celtic; to
which, however, Lye traces its primary derivation. " Originem habct in lingua Celtka

f

8 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Such arc the general features of this singular district, which
from its stern and frowning aspect, as viewed from the surrounding
lowlands, and as contrasted with their smiling pleasantness, has been
long branded by traditional prejudice with an ill name. From gene-
ration to generation it has been proverbial as the chosen spot where
bleak skies and brooding storms maintain undisputed and undisturbed

their antient solitary reign,

causing Dartmoor to be regarded through the entire neighbourhood,
as the very fatherland* of the whole family of rains, from a mist to a
waterspout. Its lofty tors may often be discerned glittering with an
Alpine scapular of snow, amidst surrounding verdure, and frequently
when Spring is smiling among the coombs of the South Hams,
" Winter lingers, and chills the lap of May" along the bleak expanse
of the Moor.

This proverbial barrenness of soil, and inclemency of climate may
account for the slight and cursory notice which historians and topo-
graphers have thought fit to bestow upon the great Moorland district
of Devonshire. Even the indefatigable Risdon contents himself (and
appears to think he has satisfied all reasonable inquirers thereby)
with enumerating " three remarkable things" f within the precincts of
Dartmoor ; and from his time to the present day, the opinion seems to
have generally prevailed, that a tract so wild and barren could afford
little to encourage research into its past history, or to repay investi-
gation into its present condition.

But wild as it is, it is not " all barren." The native rudeness and
untamed simplicity of these upland solitudes, become subjects of the
deepest interest to those who find pleasure in contemplating nature in
her sterner moods and more austere aspects ; while they secure to the

qua mons dicebatur Thor; quae Syria ot Chaldeis efferebatur Thur. Radiccm hujus
conserrant Cambri in vcrbo dwyre surgere, etc. Inde ctiam nomina montium et mon-
ticolarum apud rarias gentes. Ex . gr. Dyr. Atlas lingua Mauritania, Taurus mons
Asias. Tauri montes Sarmati©. Taurini gentes Alpine. Turinum caput Pedemontii,
Ac. Thuringi Tel Toringi montani, monticolae.

* Nimborum patria. Virgil.

f In this forest are three remarkable things; the first is a high rock called Crock cm
Torr, where the parliament for stannary courts is kept. * * * The second is Childe of
Plymstock's tomb. • * The third is some acres of wood and trees that are a fathom
about, and yet no taller than a man may touch the top with his hand, which is called
Wiatman's Wood. Survey of Devon, p. 223.

NATURAL FEATURES. 9

antiquary, means of investigating the earliest history of the island,
which he would vainly seek in more favoured districts, where culti-
vation has obliterated the venerable memorials of primitive times.

Finding among the wild uplands of Devon the most unquestion-
able vestiges of a period of our history, of which so little that is
authentic has come down to us, we are scarcely disposed to join in
the lament which the sterility of Dartmoor has called forth. As the
guardians of many an antique memorial, which in more accessible
and attractive spots, would have long since experienced a fate — unhap-
pily but too common — the tors and wilds of the antient Forest of the
West find favour in the sight of those who feel that other wants
besides those of the body, are legitimate objects of the consideration
of an intellectual, not to say, an immortal being. And without any
affected or morbid deprecation of the peaceful triumphs of the plough-
share,* nay, with the sincerest wish that every acre of waste, which
can be made to bring forth " green herb for the service of man," may
be reclaimed; — until that period arrives, one may be pardoned for
regarding with pleasure the wilds of Dartmoor in their primitive
state, and may be permitted to rejoice that there are myriads of acres
equally unproductive, and far less picturesque, which may justly be
required to be subjected to the dominion of agriculture, before their
" free and unhous'd condition is put in circumscription and confine."
That there are tracts on the moor, which may be cultivated with
success, I do not question for one moment ; and that much credit is
due to those enterprising individuals, who at this time are engaged in
extensive, and to a very encouraging degree, successful attempts to
reclaim considerable portions of the waste, I am free to admit. All
honour to the cultivator " who makes two blades of grass grow where
one only grew before," — and if it should really come to a question of
the production of a sufficient quantity of food for the teeming popula-
tion of a nation, all other considerations must give way, just as in
seasons of great public peril, — a siege or an invasion — the monuments
of antiquity, the " gorgeous palaces," and even the " solemn temples"
would be levelled rather than that they should stand to impede the
defenders, or to advantage the enemy. But that which would be
praiseworthy patriotism in such an extreme case, would, in a less

* Pacantur vomere sylvse. — Hoa.

C

10 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

manifest emergency, be reckless spoliation — such as has been too often
perpetrated upon the venerable relics of Dartmoor, without the pre-
tence of a plea of the urgent necessities of the community. One may
contemplate with satisfaction such judicious and well-planned efforts
as may be seen in the vale of Cowsick near Two Bridges ; but it is
melancholy to witness the*abortive attempts that have been sometimes
made on the bleak hill-side, where, after a Rock-pillar has been
demolished for a gate-post, and a Cromlech overthrown for a foot-
bridge, or a Kistvaen destroyed for a New-take wall, the injudicious
effort has been abandoned as hopeless, when irreparable mischief has
been done. Even Carrington's honeyed strains fail in inducing us to
sympathize with his satisfaction, when exercising the powers of poetic
vaticination, " rapt into future times :" he views with delight

The dauntless grasp
Of Industry, assail yon mighty Tors
Of the dread wilderness ;

nor shall we, like him, kindle with misplaced indignation, and demand —

Shalt thou alone
Dartmoor ! in this fair land, where all beside
Is life and beauty, sleep the sleep of death.
And shame the map of England ?

Rather would we subscribe to the opinion expressed by a contem-
porary writer,* who, in speaking of the present state of the moor,
observes, " Perhaps it serves as it is, the gracious purposes of Provi-
dence." On this subject alone, I cannot applaud the sentiments of the
honoured bard of Dartmoor, as much as admire the attractive forms
in which he has embodied them, — here our mountain minstrel seems
to have struck the only jarring chord, in the whole compass of the
wild harp of the desert.

Those who have climbed the bleak summits of Dartmoor, and
threaded the granite labyrinths which perplex their acclivities, must
be persuaded that profitable agricultural efforts must be confined to
the lower grounds, and every attempt to carry cultivation up to the
rugged eminences of the tors can only issue in loss and disappointment.
Besides, who will venture to affirm, if Dartmoor could be ploughed
to its very crest, and a scanty and precarious crop reaped from corn

* Blackwood '8 Magazine, 1833, Vol. xxxiii. 691.

NATURAL FEATURES. 11

patches 2000 feet above the sea level, that there would be no counter-
balance to the dearly-bought benefit. How much of health is now
wafted from the mountain's brow over the circumjacent towns and
villages. How much of beauty and refreshment is poured down from
the perennial fountains of the misty moor upon the smiling lowlands
of the South Hams, — of West and Central Devon. Carrington appro-
priately describes Dartmoor as the " source of half the beauty of
Devon's austral meads," and while he mourns over its native barren-
ness, justly celebrates its importance to the whole surrounding region,
in the bountiful economy of Him who " sendcth His springs into the
rivers which run among the hills."

For other fields
Thy bounty flows eternal. From thy sides
Devonia's rivers flow ; a thousand brooks
Roll o'er thy rugged slopes ; 'tis but to cheer
Yon Austral meads unrivall'd, fair, as aught
That bards have sung, or fancy has conceiv'd,
'Mid all her rich imaginings.

Would the same fertility and the same loveliness then be pro-
duced, if there were no condensing apparatus set up in Nature's won-
drous laboratory, amidst the wilds of Dartmoor 1* The primal paradise
of Eden was not perfect without the " river which went out to water
the garden, and was thence parted into four heads."t Would Devon
challenge the envied designation of the garden of England, if the Urn
of Cranmere were broken and dry ? Where would be the character-
istic amenities of the Land of Promise — -those striking features which
mark Devonshire as tho*Canaan of the West — " a good land, — a land
of brooks of water — of fountains that spring out of valleys and hills —
a land of wheat, and barley, of milk and honey — a land whose stones
are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass ;"$ where, but
for Dartmoor, to which must be attributed mainly, the fact that
this inspired description may be applied to Devon, without figure,
accommodation, or vain glory. Since then, the poet traces so much of
the beauty of the lowlands to the rugged steeps of the central wilder-
ness, and philosophers regard Dartmoor as the source of much of the

• It is not a little satisfactory to find that these views of the meteorological importance
of Dartmoor, are countenanced by practical men of high scientific reputation, and
kwal knowledge.

t Gbn. ii. 10. J Deut. viii. 7, 8, 9.

12 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

fertility of the surrounding region, the admirers of its wild simplicity
may be pardoned for hoping that other means may be found for
rendering its wide expanse productive, without impairing its solitary
grandeur, or destroying its venerable memorials of aboriginal antiquity.

Nor is this hope visionary. I rejoice to find that it is the delibe-
rate opinion of one of the most enterprising of the modern experimen-
talists* on Dartmoor, that the pasturing of cattle on the uplands,
connected with judicious cultivation in more sheltered spots, is likely
to be the most profitable husbandry, upon the whole, and best adapted
to the circumstances of the soil and climate. And it is curious to
observe that this method, if carried into effect, will probably be little
more than a recurrence to the practice of our Celtic forefathers some
twenty centuries ago, as I shall have occasion to show, when treating of
those relics of antiquity which form the principal subject of this essay.

Rich in Celtic remains, Dartmoor also, in later times, as an antient
stannary district and a Royal Forest, urges many claims to our atten-
tion — whilst in its present state, as a field of scientific research, a region
of picturesque and romantic scenery, and an asylum of old-world
customs and language, it can scarcely fail to excite the interest, not
only of those whom local partialities might be supposed to influence,
but of all others who hold with the great English moralist, that,
"whatever withdraws us from the power of the senses, — whatever
makes the past, the distant, and the future, predominate over the
present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings."

To an object so important, the wild uplands of Dartmoor are
calculated to minister, and that in no ordinary degree. Who with a
particle of sensibility could climb its tor-crowned steeps, traverse its
rock-strewn ravines, or penetrate its trackless morasses, without an
irresistible impression that every object around belongs to a period of
unrecorded antiquity ? And who, when thus surrounded by the silent
yet eloquent memorials of the mysterious past, will not acknowledge
their influence in " withdrawing him from the power of the senses," and
in carrying forward his thoughts to the still more mysterious future ?
He wanders in a desert encircled with primaeval mountains, and
beholds nature piling all around in fantastic and mimic masonry, huge
masses of granite, as if to mock the mightiest efforts of human art.

* Mr. G. Frean, of Plymouth.

NATURAL FEATURES.

13

Vast .ind gloomy castles appear to frown defiance from the beetling
crags around. But no mortal hand ever laid their adamantine founda-
■ reared their dizzy towers; Nature is the engineer that
furtificd the heights, thousands of years ago — her's are the massive
walls — her's the mighty bastions — her's the granite glacis scarped
down to the roaring torrent below — her's the hand that reared those
stupendous citadels which fable might have garrisoned with demigods,
and beleaguered with Titans; whilst in the recumbent mas3 that
guards the approach, imagination, with scarcely an effort, might discern
an archetype of the mystic Sphynx* in kindred porphyry, of proportions
far more colossal, and of date far more antient, than that which still
looks forth in serene and lonely grandeur, over the sands of the
Mcmphian desert.

There arc numerous tracts of the moor, where, around the whole
expanse, the eye cannot light upon a single feature that is not pristine,
intact, and natural. The entire scene in spots, such as that beyond
Tavy-IIead, at the foot of Furtor, is of this untamed and primaeval
character. Not a trace of man's presence or occupancy is to be
Even the half-wild cattle which range the other parts of the
moor at pleasure, seem to shun the swampy steppes of the central
wilderness. It is only em the spot that the graphic accuracy and
poetic beauty of Carrington's descriptions can be appreciated, when
with master hand, he sketches the characteristic features of a scene,
which seems to transport you in a moment from the richly cultivated
and thickly peopled provinces of England, to some unexplored and
doaerl tract, in the remotest regions of the globe:

Pevonia's dreary Alps ! and now I feel

The influence of thai impressive calm,

That rests upon them. Nothing that has life

Is visible : no solitary flock

At wide will, ranging through the silent moors,

Breaks the deep-fell monotony; and all

Is motionless, save where the giant shades

Flung by the passing cloud, glide slowly o'er

The grey and gloomy wild.
The desert expanse has come down lo us rude and inviolate from
primeval times. The tors pile their fantastic masses against the sky,

• In the road from Two-Bridgea (o Tavistock, Dr Berger and Iiis friend Mr. Necket
: ones with the resemblance of a granite rock to the Egyptian Spliyni,
i mutilated state.— Cahrhiqtos's Dartmoor, Notes, p. 20ti.

14 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

as they first " frowned in the uncertain dawn of time," — the granite
wrecks of some original convulsion still lie scattered " in most admired
disorder." The roar of " many an antient river," foaming along its
rock-bound channel breaks upon the still silence of the waste, as it did
hundreds of ages ago. All bears the impress of unaltered duration
and undisturbed solitude.

And if, from a period whose chronology reaches far beyond the
epochs of cycles, lustrums, and olympiads, we come down to the sera
of monumental antiquity, all is still antique, mysterious, and venerable.
The simple and time-worn memorials of unchronicled ages rear their
hoary forms amidst the sombre solitudes of the moor. The mossy
cairn, surmounted by its primitive unwrought pillar, carries the
thoughts back to a period, which outdates the Pyramids and Babylon,
— a period when the Mesopotamian patriarchs erected their monu-
mental column as the witness and memorial of the earliest treaties in
the history of man. The columnar masses which mark out the sacred
inclosure of those rude hypaethral temples, in which our Pagan
forefathers worshipped, stand in rough and native simplicity, untouched
by the workman's tool. Walls, which fortified the towns of the
aboriginal inhabitants, and bridges which spanned the swollen torrents
of the desert, yet remain, of ruder and more primitive construction,
than the Cyclopean architecture of far-famed Mycenae. And desolate
as Dartmoor is, — with thousands of acres now destitute even of a
turf-cutter's cabin, considerable vestiges of antient dwellings may still
be traced in various parts of the Forest and its precincts —

E'en here
Man, rude untutor'd man, has liv'd, and left
Rude traces of existence. — Carrington.

ABORIGINAL

And we shall observe that these traces are eminently
characteristic of the people, whom we conclude from

INHABITANTS. - A . /.!_•/ \ \ , i • , i.

the testimony of history to have been the inhabitants
of this part of the island, many centuries before the arrival of Julius
Caesar in Britain. To that accurate observer and faithful Commentator
on what he saw, we are indebted for a brief but important notice
of the inhabitants of the country he invaded. Britannia pars interior
ab iis incolitur, quos natos in insula ipsa memoria proditum dicunt :
maritima pars ab iis, qui prcecUe ac belli inferendi -causa ex Bdgis
transierant / et beUo iUato, ibi remanserunt, atque agros colere

Alumn.1 V\1. INHABITANT!

15

■■■'.* How strikingly docs this prove that man is the same
in every age ; and that similar circumstances issue in the same results !
More than two thousand years ago the Belgian adventurers, having
Droned the Channel, and landed on the coasts of Britain, were enabled,
doubtless by the power of numbers, or superior civilization, to make
good their footing along the maritime parts, and to drive back the

i dwellers to the less inviting, but more secure districts of the
interior, just as the English settlers and their transatlantic descendants
established themselves on the co'tsts of America, and thrust back the
.1 Red men into the forests and savannahs of the North
continent. Thus, before the lloman period of our history,
we find two distinct classes, perhaps two distinct races of inhabitants,
on the southern coast of England ; the origin of one, not doubtful,
as they were universally acknowledged to have passed over from the
country of the Belga;, and to have settled in those maritime tracts,
which lay opposite to the coast of Gaul, and in parts of which,
(Hampshire) their name long remained, and marked an important
division of the country. Whence the earlier settlers, who were
supposed to have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the island,
oone, does not appeal*, Neither Cecsar nor any of the classical
writers give the least information on a subject, which has caused no
little controversy among antiquaries, but which will probably remain
■Bong the many unsolved problems of the origin of nations. Whit-
Inker tli'. learned historian of Manchester, maintains that Britain was
peopled from Gaul about one thousand years before the Christian
•era, and that the Belgse, whom Casar mentions, followed more than
&ix hundred years after.f I am not aware whether there is any better
authority for this, than Richard of Cirencester, a chronicler of the
middle ages, who records under the date, Anno Mundi M.M.M. Circa
A«c tempora cullam et habitatam primttm, Britanniam arbitnuttur
nonttulli, cum iUam sahitarent Greeri, Phwnices que mercaloree. If
Richard be the only voucher for this exposition, as it appears to be, of

• The interior of Britain is inhabited by people who are reported by tradition to
"I! in the island; the maritime parts are possessed by inradcrs who
[ o*»r from the country of the Betpr, allured by the hope of booty, and having made
upon the Britons, established themselves in tlie country, and began to cultivate the
.-Cult, Bed. Gall. l,b. v. 10.

+ In considering the question of the aboriginal population of our island, it is

i remark the opinion of an observer so nccuratc, and a reasoner so judicious,

«i Sir K. C. Hoare, Hie celebrated Wiltshire tu-tinuary, on Hie icra of Uic erection

16 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Caesar's text, those who are acquainted with the doubts which have been
raised as to the sources of the monk's information, without neglecting
his testimony altogether, will not be inclined to overrate its importance.
Polwhele, our western antiquary, contends that the aborigines men-
tioned by Csesar did not come from Gaul, but that they arrived by sea
from the eastern parts of Asia* (Armenia as he supposes), and voyaging
by the straits of Gibraltar, at length reached the westernmost coasts
of Britain. Having settled in Cornwall and Devonshire, in after
times, they were visited in succession by Phoenician and Greek
traders, who made the distant and perilous voyage in search of tin,
for which metal the Cassiterides were already famous, at this early
period of history. In support of his favourite theory, he goes so far
as to trace vestiges of these aboriginal settlers in the name of one of
our Dartmoor rivers, and in that of a parish on its banks. Ermington
is doubtless still generally pronounced Armeton by the common
people, and this our enthusiastic antiquary regards as evidence that
the Asiatic navigators might have debarked at the mouth of the
Erme (Anne) in Bigbury bay, and named the country which was to
be their future habitation, in memory of the land they had left. If
they did so, their Danmonian descendants some three thousand years
after, imitated their example, when they emigrated from the mouth
of the Plym to an island in the Pacific, and founded a New Plymouth
at the Antipodes.

But the hypothesis of Asiatic colonization, rests on
religion. far better support than this questionable etymology.

The emigration of bodies of people in every age has
been attended with one universally accompanying circumstance, — the
importation of their religious opinions and rites into the country
of their adoption. That there is a striking similarity between the
religious opinions and sacred rites of the Druids, and those of the
eastern nations, none acquainted with the testimony of antient authors
on the subject will venture to question. From the undeniable

of Stonelienge. He supposes that the inner circle was the work of the original Celts,
and that the exterior trilithons were subsequently added by the Belgae, — Fide infra.
• " The researches of the learned are daily adding to an accumulation of evidence
which tends to prove that the aborigines of Britain sprang from the nations of the East ;
that Druidism like the Brahminical superstition was but a modification of Arkite worship,
and that we must look to a period long anterior to the dispersion of the Celtic tribes for
the primeeval history of the British race."

Davidson's British and Roman Remains near Axmintfer, p. 6. London, 1833.

II

evidence which Holy Writ affords, we know how popular and uni-
versaUy prevalent was the worship of the heavenly bodies among the
nations of the east, and with what frantic eagerness and perverse
obstinacy, even the well-instructed Hebrews recurred again and again,
in idolatrous practices, which the Holy One of Israel had expressly
forbidden on the pain of his hottest displeasure, and had punished
with the severest vengeance, times out of number. Still "they
tempted and displeased the Most High God," and "burned incense
unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the
host of heaven."* And this worship the Israelites derived from " the
nations round about," for so early as the times of Job, it was the
pardonable boast of that upright man, that he had not been carried away
by the general prevalence of idolatry in the land of Uz ; his heart
had not been enticed, nor his mouth kissed his hand, if he beheld the
sun when it shined, or the moon walking in her brightness. t The
Baal or Bel of the Canaanites and the Phoenicians, was evidently the
same deity whom Diodorus describes as the object of worship in a
northern island over against the Celtic of Gaul. They had a large
grove and temple of a round form, to which the priests resorted to
ring the praises of Apollo. J We have still etymological vestiges§ of
the name of this oriental divinity, and remains of such circular temples
yet in existence, among the wdds of Dartmoor. But whilst the
Druids in the time of Ciesar, ministered to the popular propensities by
ict toning the worship of idols, and, perhaps, the use of images, there
are just reasons for the belief that these, with other practices, were the
result of their intercourse with the Phoenicians, who seem also to
have introduced the worship of their favorite goddess, Astarte, or
Bali Sama, i.e., the queen of heaven.^ Their earlier and purer
practice seems to have been much more nearly allied to the Sabrean

• '.' Ki-.osi.iii. 5. t Jon *xxi. 26. 27. J Dion. Sic, book iii.

f Botlui.-, the Cornish antiquary, asserts lhat the old British appellation of the Scilly
Itlnndt was Sullch or 5yllch, signifying rocks consecrated to the sun.— Antiq. Corn-

• [ l Her. Vernon Hnrcoiirt assorts that the Phoenicians introduced Ihe worship
ofllaal, m 1'itv, fire lmnJnul yi'.ir. h fori; the Christian (era, among the aboriginal iiihabi-

■i hi* calls Moroonii, and whom lie describes as Arkites, -There

(•» places," obaenes this author, " called MiieJi Tnrey, one in Ihe norih, the other in

wralli -, and at both, not long before the Chrialian ssra, that is about the time when

Arititet iceeived a strong reinforcement by a Scythian swarm from the norlh, called

TiBUh d« Doinau, a buttle was fought between the Bels.Tr, the worshippers of Bel or

e side, and the Danans, i.e. the Danai, tin: Dionusui, the Arkitrs, and the

Deucdedonian, Diluvian tribes on the other."— Dact. Deluge, vol. i. 487.

PERAMBULATION OF UARTMOOB.

creed — the worship of the Sun under the form of fire — and abhorrence
of every kind of image of the invisible God. They also appear to
have scrupulously abstained from using any tool in the construction of
their temples and altars, — a practice utterly unknown to the classical
antients, and which seems again to point to an eastern origin, ;ind
even to a traditionary acquaintance with the express ordinance of the
Almighty, for the guidance of the Israelites in this particular (Ex. xx. ,
25). But the Druids had their hill altars, — and sacred groves, — in
exact correspondence again, with those idolatrous practices of the east
with which Holy Writ has made us familiar ; — and what is worthy of
remark, the favourite tree with the primitive British priesthood, for
this purpose, was the oak, the very tree which is specified by the
prophet Isaiah as connected with the worst atrocities of paganism, in
the practice of his idolatrous countrymen, whom he accuses of
" inflaming themselves with idols among the oaks (margin), slaying
the children in the valleys under the cliffs of the rocks" (Is. lvii. 5).
The Druids, like the Chaldteans, cultivated the science of astronomy
(doubtless in connection with astrology), and were great observer*
of the motions of the heavenly bodies." But the most remarkable
point of similarity is the belief in the transmigration of souls, which
the Druids are believed to have held in common with the Gymnoso-
phists of antient India. Taliessin the Welsh bard, affirms that he had
experienced in his own person the changes of the raetempaychom ;
" I have died, I have revived ; a second time was I formed, — I liave
been a blue salmon ; I have been a dog ; I have been a stag ; I have
been a roebuck on the mountains; I have been a cock ; I bavi
Acdd ; returning to my former state, I am now Taliessin. "t All these
facts* may fairly be brought to support the hypothesis of an oriental
colonization of the south western parts of England previously to the
immigration of the Belga? from Gaul, B. C. 850.§ It may however be
objected that although an earber peopling of Britain than tliis might
have taken place, it does not thence necessarily follow that the settlers
might not have crossed the narrow seas from the continent, at »

■ Hi term munclique magniluilinem el foimum mollis cCBli «c Bidcnuo. ac quod Di
n&Btsdst profitMlor^- P«»r. Max*, lib. ii. e, 2.

t Da*ibs'i Mythology of the Druids, p. 573.

I Pliny was evidently muck will the tame similarity. Britannia hodieqne earn
attonile celebrat Unlit ceiemoniis, ut de.lisse Pawia tideri Dossil.— Fmk. lib. xxx-

} Diogenes Laerliua sayi ibe Druids aud GymnoMpliiati of India were similar.—
Proem. 4, b, at. H. Sitpk. 1594.

similar,—

RELIGION. 19

NttOtel period, for instance, A.M. 3000, as Whlttaker supposes. To
this it is answered, that few, if any, traces of similar religious doctrines
are observable across the continent, in a direction which a wave of popu-
lation from the east, would have taken, had it reached the shores of
Britain, in one flow, or by successive undulations. Druidism had taken
root among the German nations, and in Gaul, where it flourished in
the latter times of the Roman republic, it was not indigenous. Ca?sar
expressly records that the Druidical discipline was discovered in
Britain, and transmitted thence to Gaul * The Rev. V. Harcourt, in
his elaborate and valuable researches into the vestiges of the Scrip-
ture doctrine of the Noachic deluge among the heathen nations of
antiquity, traces them in their traditions, mythology, and worship, as
well as in the etymology of the names of persons and places. He
adduces a mass of remarkable testimony, to prove that the Arkite
worship (which he believes Druidism to have been, in its purer and
more antient form) prevailed from India and China in the cast, to
Britain in the west. Iu proceeding with an account of the existing
monumental relics of Dartmoor, it will be curious to remark in how
many particulars they appear to bear out the theory which this learned
author has brought forward- Without therefore attempting now to
pursue further the inquiry, how far his opinions support the hypothe-
sis of oriental colonization, suffice it for the present purpose to observe,
that an aboriginal people, whose manners and religion indicate an
Asiatic origin, in remote times occupied the south western peninsula
of England, — the regions known to the Romans by the name of
Danmonium or Dunmonium, and included with the Scilly Isles, in the
loose geography of the Greeks, under the general name Cassiterides.
Here then "the 6erce Danmonii dwelt," from the times of the Cffisars,
np to a period lost in the obscurity of unrecorded antiquity, and here,
as a modern author justly observes, our British ancestors cut off from
all intimate intercourse with the civilized world, partly by then-
remoteness, and partly by their national character, retained their
primitive idolatry, long after it had yielded in the neighbouring
countries, to the polytheistic corruptions of Greece and Egypt.f

Such is the light which, when collected, the few scattered rays

* Discipline in Britannia repcrta, atque iu Gilliam Iranalata c
Cju*n BtU. Gall. lib. vL 13.
t Rev. J. B. Deisb.

SO PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

of recorded truth and just inference cast upon the obscure page of

aboriginal British history. We shall now proceed

monumental to m g^mi^^a of the monumental relics, still
relics. . '

existing on Dartmoor, and observe how strikingly

they illustrate the manners of the people and period to which we

have ventured to assign them, and how exactly they correspond with

the testimony of history, on this interesting subject.

Of the Druidical antiquities of Dartmoor, none is more con-
spicuous than their circular shrines or temples.

circular -^y e k ave no exam pi e approaching either in vastness

TEMPLE, i - . c « t

OB or extent, to the massive proportions of Stonehenge,

sacred circle, but there are not wanting specimens equally decisive

in character, although inferior in magnitude. The
Sacred Circle was evidently a rude patriarchal temple* such as the
feelings of the people and the genius of their religion demanded, and
for the construction of which, the region supplied ample and appro-
priate materials. The accidents of nature have more to do with the
decision of matters of this kind, than we are usually free to allow.
The colossal architecture of Egypt had its birth in the granite quarries
of that peculiar country ; the bituminous plains of Babylon suggested
the employment of brick in the construction of the vast edifices of
that " lady of kingdoms." The granite tors of Cornwall and Devon, in
like manner, furnished materials for the apparatus of Druidical
worship, abundant in supply and suitable in form and quality — as to
form, sublime from their very simplicity and vastness; and as to
durability, imperishable as the hills from which they were taken, rude
and untouched by the workman's tool, as when dislodged by some
primaeval convulsion of nature from their original position.

This rude simplicity and complete absence of all preparation in
the materials of the sacred circle, mark the high antiquity of the
Dartmoor specimens, and in this respect invest them with an interest
superior to the majestic, but artificial trilithons of Stonehenge. The
ingenious theory adopted by Sir R. C. Hoare appears to be most
accurate and just ; being fortified by such authority, it will scarcely be
disputed, and will lead to some curious and interesting conclusions.

* " That they (acil. sacred circles) were erected for the double purposes of religions
and civil assemblies, may be admitted without controversy. — Sir R. C. Hoarb, Ant. WiU$ t
vol. ii. 118.— Lond. 1812.

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

This laborious antiquary sanctions the opinion that the inner circle
at Stnnehengc, was the nidc primitive temple of the Celtic tribes, but
that the grand peristyle of trilithons, with its mortised imposts, was
added by the Belgce after they had driven the Celts from their former
possessions. Since, then, we have no approaches to the trilithon
structure in our existing specimens of the columnar circle, we may
infer that the Belgaj were unable to penetrate into the stronger coun-
try of the Danmonian Britons, and that here they preserved their
religion and sacred fabrics, free from Belgic innovation.

Although the Druids inculcated the opinion that the Deity
regarded not the worship which was offered to him in temples whose
canopy was less sublime and comprehensive than the boundless
expanse of heaven, they held it indispensable that certain spots should
be set apart and dedicated to his peculiar service ; and so profound
was the respect, and so unhesitating the obedience, with which the
mandates of this extraordinary priesthood were regarded, that they
appear to have had nothing more to effect for the preservation of
these saoctuaries from violation, than to mark their limits by some well
iliitined boundary — a boundary which would denote the extent of the
sacred area, without obstructing the view of the rites and ceremonies
therein performed. This object, which the Hellenic nations accom-
plished by celebrating their sacred rites, in front of their temples
and beneath their porticoes, the Druids attained, by performing them
within a circle* formed of unwrought columnar masses, rude from the
neighbouring tor.

All the Druidical temples were hypoethral, — perfectly open to
the sky, — and although the mighty columns of Stonelienge are connec-
ted by horizontal imposts, in no instance do there appear the least ves-
tiges of any provision for a roof. On Dartmoor, the stones which form
the circle, are for the most part insufficient in height for any such
purpose, nor have the uprights ever been furnished with imposts ; the
size of the area would also have precluded any attempt at covering it
with a roof, even if the principles of their religion had not denounced
any idea of this kind. Our Danmonian sacred inclosures are therefore

• " Stone circles occur at Malabar and the island of Tinisn in the Pacific Ocean."
Stnbo Bays that the Persians " hid great inclosures called Pyrajtliia, in the middle uf
which waa an oltat, called also Pyrirtliion." Foibroke, ™ho notes tliia, asks, "were these
none circle) V—Sncyclop. of Anlig. ii. p. 922. 4io.— Load. 1B25.

22 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

of the same description as the fine Druidical temple at Abury in
Wiltshire, as to the size, form, and character of the stones of which
they are constructed, and the avenues with which they are connected :
those avenues are held by some antiquaries to be decisive, that the
circles with which they are connected, are Dracontia — temples in
which serpent-worship was celebrated. In the great Dracontium at
Carnac in Brittany, which the Rev. J. B. Deane examined and described
with so much learned accuracy, he notices the serpentine form in the
avenues, " A spectator standing upon one of the cromlech hills round
which the serpent sweeps, cannot but be struck with the evidence of
design which appears in the construction of these avenues.'** Here
the ophite character of the temple is manifest, but as I have been
unable to detect any traces of a serpentine form, beyond a very slight
deviation from a direct line, in the Danmonian avenues, I should not
be disposed to class the Dartmoor temples with the Dracontia, as
some antiquaries have done. That the Druids were far from exempt
from those feelings of veneration for the serpent, which prevailed so
extensively in almost all the forms of idolatry, whatever might have
been symbolized thereby, is yet sufficiently evident, from the know-
ledge we have of their peculiar rites and ceremonies.f

The circular form has been regarded as indicating the solar
worship, but when found, as is often the case, in connection with the
avenue, the orbicular part is held to represent the head of the serpent.
But Mr. Harcourt's theory imparts new interest to the whole subject.
His learned researches have led him to the conclusion that the wor-
ship of the serpent is to be traced to a traditionary recollection of the
universal deluge, which was symbolized by an enormous water-serpent
coiled around the globe, — that this corrupted form of Arkite worship
was in many respects identical with Druidism, and that the attempts
to introduce the Solar, instead of the Aquatic idolatry, frequently
gave rise to fierce controversies, and bloody conflicts, between the
priests of the respective rituals, and their partizans. If the conclu-
sions of the learned author are just, may not vestiges of these
aboriginal polemics still be discernible in our monumental relics, and

* Rev. J. B. Dbanb, p. 370.

t Our British ancestors, remarks the Rev. J. B. Deane, were not only worshippers
of the Solar deity, symbolized by the serpent, but held the serpent, independently of his
relation to the sun, in peculiar veneration.

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

23

indications of the struggle between ophiolatry and solar worship, be
sometimes detected in the same structure.

We have already noticed that a knowledge of the great Scripture
fact of the universal deluge, may be somewhat indistinctly traced in
these remarkable monuments of our remote ancestors; but if Mr.
llarcourt is justified in his conclusion, that Diodorus Siculus des-
cribes Draidical circles, when he records that certain votive memo-
rials in the island of Samothrace, were raised by the inhabitants, in
grateful remembrance of escape from a flood, an additional argument
is afforded in favour of this opinion.

These temples or inclosures, approach more or less closely to the
circular form. They arc of various dimensions, and constructed of
granite blocks of irregular shape, and by no means uniform in size.
Taking a general view of monuments of this class in our island, some
antiquaries have fixed the number of stones, as ranging from twelve
to twenty-seven ; it is stated also, that they are more frequently found
of the former number, than any other. This number is still preserved
in the inner circle at Abury- This conjecture, however, seems to be
much at variance with conclusions drawn from our examination of
Dartmoor specimens. In some instances we found the number twenty-
seven, but we also observed circles consisting of twenty-five, fifteen,
twelve, eleven, and even ten; the height of the stones above the
surface, ranging from seven feet and a half, to eighteen inches. In
the latter cases they have probably been mutilated. The circumfe-
rence varies from thirty-six feet to three hundred and sixty, which is
the size of the Grey Wethers, below Sittaford Tor, the largest, it is
believed, in Devonshire.

The columnar, or sacred circle,* sometimes has a Cairn or Kist-
raen within its inclosure — sometimes, as at Merivale and Longstone,
it is found in connection with avenues ; — at Grey Wethers, there are
two circles, whose circumferences almost touch each other, — and one
example has been observed, enclosing two concentric circles. The
columnar inclosure designed for religious purposes,t is at once clearly

* Mr. Harcourt explains llifi celebrated story of Gyces' msipic ring, by referring it
to DniidUra. " The ring was a Druid's circle, and he disappeared, by hiding himself in
Ike myiUc cell, from which he could see without being seen."— Doct. Dtluge, «ol. i. 473.

t As lo other circles, some particulars are especially worth notice, m . that Druids of
lie ardt and bards uf the inclosure, arc mentioned in antienl British poems.— Ant. Willi.
nL ii. \rl.

24 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

distinguishable from the hut-circles or foundations of ruined dwellings,
so numerous on the moor. The stones, of which the former are
composed, are in all cases set up at intervals of greater or less extent ;
whereas the latter clearly indicate a totally different purpose, the
stones being set as closely together, as their rugged and unwrought
form would permit.

These obvious characteristics will therefore mark with sufficient
distinctness, the purposes for which these rude structures were exclu-
sively appropriated to religious rites — and it may be concluded, that,
even when used for secular purposes, the assemblies would be con-
gregated within the sacred precincts, only on grave occasions, and
under the solemn sanctions of religion, just as the Roman senators
held their sittings in the temples of the gods.

The notion of columnar circles forming places of assembly, for
judicial, or other grave purposes of a secular character, identifies also
these relics with some of the most venerable and interesting records
of early Hebrew history. We are forcibly reminded of the twelve
stones, taken at the command of Joshua, out of the channel of Jordan,
and erected in Gilgal — the very name intimating the circular arrange-
ment ; for Gilgal means any thing round or spherical. And when
we bear in mind that Gilgal was one of the principal places where
Samuel judged Israel — in his circuits, as ruler of the land — we shall
not only be led to the conclusion, that amidst the wilds of Dartmoor,
may be found a veritable counterpart of one of the primitive courts of
Hebrew judicature, but shall also infer additional proof of aborigi-
nal oriental colonization.

Those curious relics of the aboriginal period of our history, the

Stone Avenues had attracted little notice, and in-
stone avenue, ^ ee( j j^ b een scarcely mentioned by our local

parallelithon to P°g ra P ners or antiquaries, before our examina-
tion of those near Merivale bridge, in the year
1827. Folwhele, who, in the most systematic and elaborate manner,
classifies and enumerates every remnant of Druidical antiquity, in
Dartmoor, mentions the avenue only in an incidental and cursory
manner, in his minute account of the Drewsteington cromlech, which,
he says, " is placed on an elevated 6pot— overlooking a sacred way,
and two rows of pillars,' which mark this processional" road of the
Druids. Lysons, in his county history, makes no mention of any

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

25

tiling of the kind, although the existence of tliis curious conformation
of stones was well known to the inhabitants of Tavistock and the
cighbourhood, under the popular name of the Plague Market. Under
that designation, our attention was directed to the spot, i No sooner
did we mount the slope, than Col. Hamilton Smith instantly detected
this interesting and characteristic feature of aboriginal worship, and
pronounced the rows of stones to be nothing less than avenues, con-
structed for the performance of some solemn Arkite ceremonial —
probably in connection with the river below, to which their direction
evidently pointed. The hypothesis of the purpose for which these
avenues were designed, is abundantly confirmed by the examination
of similar parallel lines of erect stones in other parts of the moorland
district, and by a comparison of the opinions of those antiquaries,
who have described stone avenues of a similar character in other
places.* On Dartmoor they occur, cither singly or in pairs, but
always in connection with other aboriginal relics, and most commonly
with the columnar Sacred inclosure.

The following features may be also noted, as the result of an
examination of the principal specimens to be found on Dartmoor.
They are straight on the plain, and never serpentine, — one example is
very slightly curvilinear for a short distance. The stones are from
two to four feet high, — appear to have been chosen with a view to

B degree of uniformity, — and arc placed at irregular distances, but
generally about three feet and a half apart. The terminating blocks
»re in most cases of larger size than the others, and the parallel lines
stand about four feet and a half asunder. The general direction of the
avenues, appears to be from one of the Sacred circles to a neighbour-
ing stream, and in several instances there seems to be preference
given to a leaning cast and west,

Among the relics of Druidical antiquity, authors have enume-
rated the Logan Stone and Rock Idol. Of the latter of these, Dartmoor

boast many remarkable specimens. Moulded as they are, as
Corrington soothly sings,

Id to a thousand shapes
Of beauty and of grandeur,

few arc the tors which would not attract attention, and inspire awe,

jniie »t Arebury, in Wiltshire, is ia immediate connection with
it that place, and though longei, is uf precisely similar chancier.

26 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

if pointed out for the purposes of worship to an ignorant and super-
stitious people. But there is no conclusive evi-
rock idol, dence that such adoration was ever offered by our

aboriginal forefathers, although Borlase has ven-
tured to particularize and classify these stone deities. To give any
accurate notice of objects of this class, would be scarcely less than
to enumerate the principal tors on the moor ; or rather it would be
impossible to discriminate, in a classification, in which the judgment
would have far less exercise than the imagination. Some have
thought, that a rock basin on any tor, or pile of rocks, is decisive of
its mythological character. Polwhele, who is by no means over
cautious in admitting the claims of various objects to Druidical
honours, judiciously restrains his fancy in this particular, and truly
enough observes, that "we are afraid to fix on a Druid-Idol, lest
the neighbouring mass should have the same pretensions to adoration,
and all the stones, upon the hills, and in the vallies, should start up
into divinities."* Yet he thinks " the principal rocks on Dartmoor
might have been British idols," and is inclined to concede to
Blackstonef and Whitstone, near Moreton, the honour of canoni-
zation. And when we gaze upon such a mass as Vixen Tor, grand and
huge, as it towers above the vale of Walkham, or view such a
singular pile as Bowerman's-Nose, on Heighen Down, we can
scarcely err in concluding that if the Druids had their Bock Idols,
these must have ranked high in their granite mythology.

The Logan Stone seems to have formed an impor-
wgks stone, tant and characteristic feature in the mystic appara-
tus of Druidism, but there are only one or two
specimens now known to exist in Devonshire, and even these have
almost, if not entirely, lost the quality which originally gave them fame
and distinction. The celebrated Drewsteignton Logan Stone might be
repeatedly passed by, without exciting more curiosity or attention than
any other huge granite mass, standing aloft in the bed of the river. And
it is impossible to traverse the moor in any direction without observing
many a similar rock which once might have been a Logan Stone, or
might have] been easily made to hgg (vibrate) — so fantastical and
singular are the positions in which such superincumbent masses are

* Historical Views of Devonshire, p. 53.

f Blackystone and Heltor, as they arc commonly called in the neighbourhood.

MONUMENTAL RELICS. 27

continually found, balanced on another rock below, so nicely as to
admit of the immense bulk being moved, by the application of no
more force than the strength of a man's hand. Such curiously
adjusted masses seem not to have been unknown to the antients.
Pliny, observes Polwhele,* hath evidently the Logan Stone in view,
when he tells us that at Harpasa, a town of Asia, was a rock of a
wonderful nature, " Lay one finger on it and it will stir ; but thrust
at it with your whole body and it will not move." But the most
curious mention of the Logan by the antients, is that of Apollonius
Bhodius ; from which it would appear that such rocking stones were
sometimes artificial, and raised as funeral monuments, in connection
too with tumuli or barrows.

In sea-girt Tenos, he, the brothers slew,

And o'er their graves in heapy hillocks threw

The crumbling mould ; then with two columns crown 'd,

Erected high, the death-devoted ground ;

And one still moves, how marvellous the tale,

With every motion of the northern gale !

Fawkes, Argonaut, b. iv. 1761.

In Wales, such stones are called Maen Sigl, the Shaking Stone, a
term equivalent to the Loggan or Logging Stone of Devon and
Cornwall. Our vernacular probably still retains the word; and
"a great logging thing," familiarly and graphically describes any
large mass in vibratory motion.

The purposes to which the Logan Stone was applied by the
Druids have given rise to no little antiquarian controversy. According
to Toland, " the Druids made the people believe that they alone could
move these stones, and by a miracle only ; by which pretended power
they condemned or acquitted the accused, and often brought criminals
to confess what could in no other way be extorted from them."
Borlase having observed rock basins on the Logan Stones in Cornwall,
conjectures that by the means of those basins the Druids made the
Logan subservient to their judicial purposes, and applied it as an
ordeal to convict or acquit a culprit, by filling or emptying the basin,
and by this displacement of the centre of gravity rendered the mass
immoveable, or the contrary, at pleasure. This ingenious conjecture

* Hist. View Dtv., p. 56. Juxta Harpasa, oppidum Aaicc, cautcs stat horrenda, uno
tigito mobili* ; eadem, si toto corpore iinpellatur, resistens.— Pun. lib. ii. 69.

28 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

of the antiquary has been thus felicitously rendered subservient to
poetical purposes by Mason —

Behold yon huge
And unhewn sphere of living adamant,
Which pois'd by magic, rests its central weight
On yonder pointed rock ; firm as it seems,
Such is its strange and virtuous property,
It moves obsequious to the gentlest touch
Of him whose heart is pure ; but to a traitor,
Tho' ev'n a giant's prowess nerv'd his arm,
It stands as fixed as Snowdon.

Fosbroke considers the Logan or Rocking Stone as the " stone
of power," occurring so frequently in the poems of Ossian, according
to which authority it appears that the bards walked round the stone
singing, and made it move as an oracle of the fate of battle. " He
called the grey-haired Snivan, that sang round the circle of Loda,
when the stone of power heard his voice, and battle turned in the
field of the valiant"

That a crafty and intelligent priesthood like the Druids, should
have availed themselves of circumstances so favourable as the singular
position of the Logan Stones, is highly probable, but that their being
so placed is the effect of natural circumstances there can be no doubt
Norden's explanation may apply to many though not to all the exam-
ples. " It is to be imagined that theis stones were thus lefte at the
general floudc when the earth was washed awaye, and the massie
stones remained, as are mightie rocks uncovered, standing upon loftie
hills."

Like many other disputed points of antiquarian
book basin, interest, where no contemporary authority or

external evidence can be adduced on either side,
the Bock Basins have afforded a fruitful source of controversy.
Whilst some have strenuously advocated their claims to the venerable
character of Druidical relics, "others at this doctrine rail/ 9 and
attribute their formation to the action of the weather, and to the
facility with which the component particles of granite disintegrate
under certain circumstances. That numberless hollows or granite
masses have been thus naturally formed, no observer of the natural
pheonomena of Dartmoor will for a moment question. But that off
these singular relics are to be ascribed to the action of physical
causes, will scarcely be admitted by those who have examined such

M(<5UlIUrrAL RELICS. £9

carious specimens as that on the- top of Great Alistor, one of the
loftiest hills of the moor. This basin is in a singularly perfect State,
in form a circle, three feet in diameter, and eight inches deep. Its
sides are regularly formed, rising straight from the bottom, which »
Sat ; a spout or lip is formed in its northern edge. It might be most
characteristically described as a pan, excavated in granite (accordingly,
ftfistax Pan is its popular designation), and it bears such n itiVal
marks of artificial preparation, as could scarcely fail to convince any
unprejudiced observer.

That this rude and primitive species of basin formed part of the
apparatus of Druidism there can be little doubt, but the specific
purpose for which they were designed is not so clear. The frequent
occurrence of rock basins on the surface of Logan Stones, induced Dr.
Borlase to conclude that they were intended to regulate the motion of
the Logan Stone. The same author supposes them to have been used
for libations of blood, wine, honey, or oil, and describes some as large
enough to receive the head and part of the body. Fosbroke unhesi-
tatingly pronounces rock basins to be " cavities cut in the surface of a
rock, supposed for reservoirs, to preserve the rain or dew in its
original purity, for the religious uses of the Druid."* Polwhele
observes, "with respect to the use of these basins, I think we may
" easily conjecture that they were contrived by the Druids, as recep-
" tacles of water, for the purpose of external purification by washing
"and sprinkling. The rites of water-lustration and ablution, were
" too frequent among the Asiatics, not to be known to the Druids,
" who resembled the eastern nations in all their religious ceremonies,
" fashions, and customs, * • From such basins the officiating Druid
" might sanctify the congregation with rt more sacred lustration than
" usual. In this water he might mix his misletoej or infuse his oak
" leaves, for a medicinal or incantatorial potion."

We learn from Mr. Vernon Harcourt that the connection, or
rather the identity of Druidism with Arkite worship, may be satisfac-
torily traced in this remarkable relic of antiquity, the rock basin. In
the opinion of the Druids, or of their predecessors in the Arkite priest-
hood, water was deemed so essential to the mysteries of regeneration,
that they took great pains to secure a supply of it in the best way they

• Bncyslop. of Antin., vol i. p. lb.— Land. 1825. 4to.

30 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

could, and for this purpose they excavated basins upon the surface of
the rocks in their high places to contain it. The same author notes
a curious circumstance, related by an oriental traveller, " There
are three large troughs or rock basins, neatly cut out on the
flat surface of a granite rock at Axum in Abyssinia; out of which,
tradition says, that a great snake, the presiding genius of the flood,
who resided in the hollow of the mountain, used to eat."*

The following may be noted as characteristics of the rock basins
observed in various parts of Dartmoor. Situation — commonly on the
highest spot of the loftiest pile of the tor, very often near the edge of
the block in which they are hollowed — in many instances, with a lip
or channel, to convey the water from the basin, — bottom, flat, — sides,
perpendicular, — depth, from four to eight inches, — form, for the most
part circular, and varying in diameter from one foot to three.

The Cromlech is, perhaps, the most curious relic

CROMLECH. * •% • • i i ,i »,i»

oi our aboriginal ancestors ; and the precincts of
Dartmoor can boast one of the finest in the kingdom, which may be
pronounced to be the only perfect specimen in Devonshire. Sir It. C.
Iloare observes that the Cromlech has been confounded with the
Kistvacn, but that he had strong reason for supposing they were
raised for different purposes. The true Cromlech, as distinguished
from the Kistvaen, generally consists of three rude unwrought stones,
artificially fixed in the ground, and supporting a fourth, of an irregu-
lar tabular form, as a canopy, in most cases at the height of several
feet from the ground ; whereas the Kistvaen consists of four, five, or
more slabs, forming a kind of rude stone coffin or sarcophagus, fixed
in the ground, with a cover-stone for the reception of corpses.
Instances occur of four, and even six supporters to the impost in
cromlechs ; but three is the more usual number. It is singular that
Dr. Borlase should never have found more than three supporters, as
Trevethy Stone, near St. Cleer in his own county, has seven. He
supposes three to have been chosen in preference to a larger number,
as not requiring so much nicety in bringing the impost to bear. The
masses, of which cromlechs are composed, like the Druidical monu-
ments in general, are rude and unwrought, and appear to have been
placed in their present position, rough from their native bed, — and

* Doct. of Deluge, vol. ii. 505—6.

MONUMENTAL RELICS. 31

untouched, except by the storms of three thousand winters. The
term cromlech is of doubtful import, and the researches of antiqua-
ries into its etymology have thrown little light on the purposes for
which these primitive monuments were originally designed. Row-
lands (Mona Antigua Restaurata) derives the name Cromlech from
the Heb. Carem luach, which he renders, a devoted stone or altar.
Sir B. C. Hoare traces the etymology to the British words crom,
bending, or bowed, and ttec, a broad, flat stone. Dr. Borlase hazards
the conjecture that the word means the crooked stone, the impost
or quoit being generally of a gibbous or curved form. And with
regard to the particular specimen at Drewsteignton, Polwhele is
of opinion that the name of the farm on which it stands may
be regarded as favouring this etymology, as he thinks Shilston is
no more than a corruption of Shilfeston* (by which term the estate
is described in antient deeds), which "signifies the shelfstone, or
shelving stone.f One of the characteristics of the cromlech is its
shelving cover-stone, or quoit as it is more commonly called ; and by
those who contend that these curious monuments were gigantic
altars,} raised for the celebration of the bloody rites of Druidism, —
this form is supposed to have been adopted to afford the assembled
votaries a fuller view of the devoted victim and sacrificing priest, and
to allow the blood to run off readily. But whilst standing by the
altar is a position familiar to all, as the universally prevailing practice
among all nations where sacrifices have formed part of the worship of
the people, the idea of a priest standing upon it is altogether foreign
to our notions, and would doubtless appear to be abhorrent to the
feelings of the Druids, who seem to have been most scrupulous in
inculcating peculiar reverence for places and objects consecrated to
the purposes of religion. Such an elevation as that of the Drew-
steignton cromlech could never have been reached, except by the
help of a ladder or steps. A Cyclopaean staircase of granite blocks

• Hist. Views Det>. % p. 70.

f It is worthy of remark that in our genuine Devonshire vernacular the word shelf
is still pronounced shil, and thus far supports Polwhele's notion. Moreover the Anglo-
Saxon scylfe is not only a shelf, but also an abacus, a roof or covering, as rendered by
Bosworth, (Anglo-Sax. Diet, in voc. abacus, scamnum, tabulatam, tectum,) terms
which describe with singular accuracy, the cromlech at Shilston, in the parish of
Drewsteignton.

% Olaua Wormius appears to support this hypothesis. " Ararum structure apud nos
est varia. Maxima ex parte congesto ex terra constant tumulo, in eujus summitate, tria
ingentia saxa, quartum, illudque majus, latius ac planius, sustinent, fulciunt ac sustentant,
ut instar menses tribus fuleris innixae emineat."

32 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

might have given access to the surface, but no traces of such an
accommodation have oyer been found in any of the numerous existing
examples. For these and other reasons, we may justly question the
hypothesis, which would discover a colossal altar in these remarkable
monuments of aboriginal antiquity, and would conclude that this
was their original destination. Still they might have been the scene
of religious rites, although the cromlech itself was not intended to
form an altar, but rather a 6hrine, or perhaps the tomb of the Arch-
Druid or other distinguished personage.

Sir R. C. Hoare considers the absence of human remains in a
particular instance as evidence in favour of the cromlech having been
intended for an altar ; but Dr. Borlasc remarks " as the whole frame
of the cromlech shows itself to be unfit for an altar of burnt
offerings, so I think it points out evidently to us several reasons to
conclude that it is a sepulchral monument," though he allows that in
his researches he never found bones or arms to support his hypothesis.

Fosbroke quotes Holinshed in support of the altar hypothesis,
but although the old chronicler speaks of an altar, it by no means
follows that the altar he mentions must be a cromlech. " Cromlechs
are further designated as altars by Holinshed, * * before quoted,
where after mentioning places compassed about 'with huge stones,
round like a ring/ he adds, ' but toward the south was one mightie
stone, far greater than all the rest, pitched up in manner of an altar,
whereon their priests might make their sacrifices in honour of their
gods.' "♦ A mighty stone (standing singly) might be " pitched up in
manner of an altar," without supporters beneath, (for this would
destroy its altar-like character, and constitute it a table, instar tnenste,
as Olaus Wormius has it), and there are thousands on Dartmoor,
which only require to be raised on-end, to form altars, f exactly suited
to the purposes and genius of Druidism, and closely approaching to
the pedestal or truncated form, so generally preferred among the
nations of classical antiquity, for this essential and prominent feature
in the arrangements of their temples.

* Holinshed, v. 45, ed 4to. Ency. Antiq., 508.

t " The huge piles of stones erected from time immemorial, in several parts of Ireland,
with immense coverings, raised in due order, are doubtless of Pagan times. Some think
them Druidical altars. They have the generical name of Leaba na Feme. These words sig-
nify the beds of the Phceni, or Carthaginians:* —Ency. Ant., 513. From this etymology,
I should however infer that these erections were burying places rather than altars.

i l It RELICS.

M

Another hypothesis regards tkc Cromlech as a sanctuary or
acred cell, — a place of occasional retreat, for a. Druid, and intimately
ted with Arkite ceremonies, probably representing the ark
■

After all the conjectures which have been made, as to the
original desigu of these venerable and interesting relics of unrecorded
f , the most reasonable conclusion seems to be that to which
such writers as Borlase and Polwhele wore mainly led (from their
acquaintance with the examples m Cornwall and Devon), viz., that
they were chiefly intended as sepulchral monuments raised only .to
persons of eminence and distinction, although this might not prevent
their being used for other purposes. That very curious specimen,
the Cromlech of St. Cleer, in Cornwall, is popularly called the
. * Stone, and if this is rightly rendered the house or place
of graces, it would appear that some evidences of antient burials had
been found within its area. At least, we are certain that human
ri'tuains have been discovered beneath the massive canopy of the
cromlech, in various instances, although Sir R. Hoarc adduces an
-. mentioned above, in which a cromlech occurs, surrounded
by five kistvaens, all which contained bones ; yet none were found
iitirlcr the cromlech itself: but then it must be borne in mind that
the learned Wiltshire antiquary, as he himself allows, never had an
opportunity of examining a cromlech, his own county not offering
■ advantages as are presented to the Danmonian investigator,
in the fine specimens which remain in Cornwall and Devon. Polwhele
prouounces that the Drewsteignton cromlech "was the sepulchre
"of a chief Druid, or of some prince, the favourite of the Druid
" order. Hence the cromlech acquired a peculiar degree of holiness ;
" and sacrifices were performed in view of it, to the manes of the
" dcad."t That religious ceremonies were celebrated at or near
tlir.se singular erections may be inferred from the designations which
some of them have traditionally obtained. Fosbroke mentions that
the Cromlech, near Marecross in Glamorganshire, is still called the
Old Church, among the common people.

Mr. Chappie, who wrote an elaborate treatise on the Drewsteign-

• Nonlcn. Low ever, calls it Trtthenic, Oho Gigantis; but TreTethy or Trethevy is
Pmiin by which it is still knon 11 in the neighbourhood,
t Hist. new. Dcv. 'Jt.

34 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

ton Cromlech, about seventy years ago, fancied that he had elicited from
various careful measurements, an entirely new object, contemplated
by the original constructors. He is convinced that it " could not be
primarily intended, either as a religious structure, or a sepulchral
monument, but was partly designed for sciatherical purposes, and in
general, as the apparatus of an astronomical observatory 3 '! Without
further adverting to this author's minute calculations and elaborate
arguments, it will be generally concluded that cromlechs were more
probably erected for sacrificial or sepulchral purposes than for astro-
nomical; and that the theory which is built upon a foundation so
fanciful will scarcely demand a serious refutation. The result of one
of his calculations may, however, be noticed ; as he may possibly be
somewhat near the truth, when he infers that upwards of one thousand
two hundred years have elapsed since the Drewsteignton Cromlech
was erected. Another calculation which Mr. Chappie made is likely
to be accurate, as he had real data, and not imaginary premises
to found it upon. He computes the superincumbent quoit to contain
216 cubic feet, nearly, and calculates its weight at sixteen tons and
sixteen pounds. When we consider that this huge mass of granite
rock is supported at the height of nearly seven feet from the ground,
and has preserved its position for, perhaps, at least twenty centuries,
we should be unjust in forming a low estimate of the mechanical skill
of the people who could construct such a massive and durable fabric.

The Kistvaen, Cistvaen, or Stone Chest, has been
kistvaen. thought to differ from the cromlech only in size ; but

even if both were designed for sepulchral purposes,
their formation is essentially different. By the term Kistvaen is com-
monly understood, stones placed edgewise, inclosing a small space of
ground, and covered with a similar stone. " Of this relic of British
antiquity," says Sir It. C. Hoare, "lam enabled to speak with certainty,
if, by its form and name, it did not speak for itself; it is composed of
several stones, set upright, with a large one incumbent, thus forming
a stone coffin or chest, in which the ashes or bones of the deceased
were deposited."* Sometimes it is found on the summit of a cairn,
as at Molfra, Cornwall, but I have observed no example of this des-
cription in Devonshire. Sometimes it is embedded in the cairn, and

• Ant. Wilts, toL ii., p. 115.

~~

KOK1 MENTAL RELICS.

H

one of lliis kind remains on the highest part of Cosdon hill. One- we
noticed near a trackway, below Rippon Tor, within the inclosure of
one of the hut circles, or foundations of aboriginal habitations, and
which would therefore not appear to be designed for sepulture. I
observed and measured a fine specimen, in June, 1846, about a fur-
long south of Hound Tor, within a circular inclosure (constructed of
slabs closely set), twenty -six yards in circumference. The Kistvaen
itself is formed of four stones, — one of the lateral slabs remains
almost upright in its original position ; it is not less than six feet one
inch long, one foot in average thickness, and fifteen inches wide. At
the south end, the head or foot-stone remains erect, two feet three
inches broad, and thus giving the breadth of this aboriginal sarcopha-
gus. The other side and end stones are thrown down. Kistvaens
we found in connection with the sacred circle, and with cairns, as
above described ; but they arc more usually observed simply placed,
i.e., independently of any other relic. In the centre is frequently
seen a circular excavation, from wliich, in most cases, there is good
reason for supposing a cinerary urn to have been removed, as in
many instances both urns and bones have been found within these
primitive depositories. Kistvaens, in barrows, with sepulchral re-
mains, according to Sir R. C. Hoare, arc usually found in barrows, at
the broad or eastern end.

The Barrow, or Tumulus, is too well known as a
barhow ... , ,

, SI) primitive monumental mound to require any

caisd. lengthened description. Where stones were not

abundant, the soil heaped together at once protec-
ted the remains of the dead,— and formed their monument. But
where stones of convenient size abounded, as on Dartmoor, the
monuments of the departed were raised by an accumulation of stones
all of a size, to be easily carried by a man, since we learn that every
person in the army, or community, or town, brought one stone to the
the Roman soldiers were each accustomed to bring a helmet
full of earth to the tumulus, and thus was formed the cairn or carnedd,
which Sir R. C. Hoare observes, resembles the barrow both in shape
and purport, but differs in its materials and situation. Some authors
distinguish between Cairn and Carnedd, regarding the latter as a
place of sacrifice, the former of burial. But Sir R. C. Hoare pronoun-
ces that several have been opened without any appearance of

36 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

sepulchral remains being detected, and thence concludes that many
cairns or artificial aggregations of stones are merely heaps of memorial,
— raised for the purpose of commemorating some remarkable event or
transaction. The venerable and unerring records of divine history
afford a well-known example of the existence of this custom, in the ear-
liest ages of the world, when Jacob raised a heap of stones in attestation
of the compact of reconciliation and amity between himself and his
father-in-law, Laban ; and in the terms employed, and the ceremonies
resorted to, it is not a little curious and instructive to trace indica*-
tions of the several purposes to which similar monuments were alike
applied by the Mesopotamian patriarchs, and by our Celtic fore-
fathers.

In this highly interesting record we have preserved even some
minute details of the process of forming the monumental erection,
after the conflicting parties had adjusted the preliminaries of the
compact. " Now, therefore," said Laban, " come thou, let us make a
covenant, I and thou, and let it be for a witness between me and
thee." The effects of the appeal made to the domestic charities and
kindliest feelings of our nature are seen in the construction of that
kind of simple but significant monument, which was no doubt the
recognised symbol and memorial of similar transactions. Jacob, as
the chief of his clan or household, first chooses a columnar stone,
maen, or rock pillar, such as are frequently seen on Dartmoor,
and then calls upon his family and followers to collect other stones
of a form suitable for the construction of a cairn or barrow. " And
Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto
his brethren, Gather stones ; and they took stones and made an heap,
and they did eat there upon the heap." We find that the word here
rendered heap* properly means any round accumulation, the Hebrew
root implying, in its primary sense, something rolled into a spherical
form. Hence commentators have imagined that the stones thus
collected might have formed a circular mound, with a single stone
erect in the centre, and that it was upon this rudely constructed
inclosure the people sat, when " they did eat there upon the heap,"
whilst the central pillar might have been an altar, of which arrange-
ment there are many Druidical examples, especially when the sur-

* Gal. acervus, cumulus, in rotundum aggcstus.—Siv.O'Sin Lex, Heb. in roc.

MOMtTMEHTAl RELICS.

.;:

rounding iuclosure is a sacred or columnar circle- But the patriarchal
monument, which we are now examining, was more probably a simple
cairn or round stone barrow (iiovvoi hi the Septuagint), with a rock
pillar elevated in the centre ; and as all the family and retainers seem
to have been called upon to carry stones to the heap, it appears to
have been intended to impress upon their memory the transaction in
which they had been engaged, and thus to constitute them all so
many witnesses of the covenant into which their chiefs had entered.
That this catrn was primarily designed to attest and perpetuate the
treaty of reconciliation and amity, we are expressly told, and the
names which the patriarchs respectively gave it, — each in his proper
tongue, leave no room for doubt on this point. Laban called it Jegar
Sahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed, both importing the same
thing, the heap of witness. But Laban appears to have added a
further designation, which indicates another use to which, these cairns
were applied. It was also called Mizpeh — i.e. a beacon or watch-
tower ; for he said, " The Lord watch between me and thee, when we
are" absent one from another." Placed on some of the loftiest peaks
of Dartmoor, the cairns were doubtless used as most suitable watch-
towers ; and when alarm was necessary, the flaming pile raised upon
them would be a conspicuous signal to the whole surrounding country.
A beacon kindled upon the cairn on the top of C'osdon, often, perhaps,
roused the warriors of North Devon, whilst it would be also seen
from Hey Tor, and thus spread the alarm through East Devon and
the South Hams. The mountain retains the name of Cosdon Beacon
to this day. Furthermore, the mound raised by the patriarchs on
this memorable occasion probably answered the purpose of a land-
mark or boundary, — " And Laban said to Jacob, This heap be witness,
and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee,
and that thou shalt not pass over this heap unto me, to do me harm."
Such were the purposes, among others, to which these primitive
nts appear to have been applied ; nor can we doubt that the
counterpart of the Heap of Witness, piled up some four thousand
years ago in the wilds of Syria, is to be found in many of the cairns
and barrows of our British ancestors.

Many of the cairns on Dartmoor, as those which gave name to
Three Burrow Tor, at the southern extremity, are popularly but
incorrectly called barrows, the simple and descriptive designation of

38 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

the latter being conveyed in the words, Sepulchrum cespes erigit, a
monument formed of the sod, whereas the cairn is constructed of
stones, whence in the rocky wilds of Devonshire, where these mate-
rials are abundant, the cairn is frequent, while the true sod barrow is
of comparatively rare occurrence. On the other hand, in a more
champaign region, such as the Wiltshire downs, the barrow, in every
shape, is found to prevail. Of the four principal kinds* which
Sir B. Hoare enumerates, we have numerous specimens of the first
kind, the Long Barrow, on the moorland heights of Devon. These
are thought by this learned author to have been clearly alluded to by
the celebrated Danish antiquary, Olaus Wormius, when describing
royal barrows, in the form of a large ship (Begii tumuli ad magnitu-
dinem et figuram carina, navis)-it would seenTkeel upwar^r.
Harcourt points out this form as identifying this kind of monumental
relic with that traditionary knowledge of the deluge, and veneration
for the ark, which prevailed so extensively among the antient nations
of the world — " It is not difficult to account for the reversed position
of the ship ; for when the first wanderers over the ocean desired to
have a place of worship, to which they might repair in bad weather,
with the least possible deviation from their antient usages, it would
naturally occur to them, that by hauling their ships on shore and
turning their keel upwards, they would obtain at once an object of
S€ religious reverence and a shelter from the storm."t But, whatever
might have given rise to the form, and to whatever other purposes
the barrow or cairn might have been applied, its sepulchral character
will not admit of question ; although Sir B. Hoare thinks it wonderful
that such gigantic mounds should have been raised for the deposit
of a few human bodies, but in this remark seems to betray the want
of his usual acumen, as it is evident on very slight reflection that
magnitude was the only means by which monuments of such simple
materials could be rendered conspicuous, distinctive, or permanent.
But our Wiltshire antiquary admits that some cairns have been
proved sepulchral, and as to barrows there can be no doubt, though
both, as we have already seen, may have been applied to other

€€
IC
€1

• 1— Long Barrow; 2— bowl-ahaped ; 3— bell-shaped ; 4— Druids' Barrow. The
three latter forms are scarcely likely to occur where stone barrows or cairns prerail, as
in Deronahire.

f Doct. Del, ii. 272.

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

88

purposes. And with regard to their size being disproportioncd to
their object U monumental erections, — in proof of what has been
advanced above, Polwhelc records the opening of a cairn on Haldon,
by Rev. Mr. Swete, of Oxton, in the centre of which was found a
single cinerary urn, though the cairn was more than two hundred feet
in circumference. We may, therefore, believe Silbury to have been
a colossal monument (as well as a hill-altar*), especially, as this
Wiltshire wonder, vast as it is, shrinks into comparative insignificance
when contrasted with the tumulus of Ninus, near the city of Nineveh,
which, according to Ctesias, was nine furlongs in height and ten in
breadth !

This method of burial was continued in our own isle down to the
Saxon a;ra. Thus, in Caernarvonshire, Bedn Gwortigern, still pre-
serves the memory of the Grave of Vortigern, — a large Caruedd or
Stone barrow. Whjttaker (Hist. Manchester, ii. 140), quotes
Adamnan's Life of Columba, (lib. i., c. 33,) to show that it continued
a century later, as the burial of a person is thus expressly described.
"Socii congesto lapidum acervo sepelierunt."

A Bimpler commemorative monument is the Kock
rock PILLAR. Pillar, or rude Stone Obelisk — similar, probably, to
that pillar which Jacob erected on the above occa-
sion, and still more like that which he had previously set up at
Bethel to commemorate the gracious manifestation of his Divine
presence, which the God of his fathers had vouchsafed, and the
promise to his countless posterity of that whole land on which he lay
a forlorn and houseless wanderer. In the former case, where the
pillar stood only as the witness to former transactions between man
and man, we have no mention of any ceremonial of dedication. But
the pillar which was raised to transmit to future generations the
remembrance of the heavenly vision of the Most High appears to
have been dedicated by the patriarch as marking a spot consecrated
by the manifestation of the Almighty Presence, and regarded by bim
as none other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven. The
sacred historian writes, that Jacob took the stone that he had put for

" Mr. Harcourt is of opinion that in the conical or pyiamidicil banow may be
traced ■ aymbolical representation of Ararat, a mountain held aactcd by many nations
u the spot on -which the Ark rested after tbo Deluge. " The pyramid, like all other
MCted mounts, was a memorial o( Mount Aiarat."— boci. Dtl., ii. 252.

40 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and put oil upon it. " This
passage," says Burder, ts evinces of how great antiquity is the custom
of considering stones in a sacred light, as well as the anointing them
with consecrated oil." And in speaking of blocks of stone still wor-
shipped in Hindostan and other eastern countries, the same author
observes, " that it is very remarkable that one of the principal cere-
monies incumbent upon the priests of these stone deities, according to
Tavernier, is to anoint them daily with odoriferous oils. From this
conduct of Jacob, and this Hebrew appellative (Bethel) the learned
Bochart, with great ingenuity and reason, insists that the name and
veneration of the sacred stones called Bactyli, so celebrated in all
pagan antiquity, were derived." Thus, the setting up of a stone by
this holy person, in grateful memory of the celestial vision, probably
became the occasion of idolatry in succeeding ages, to these shapeless
masses of unhewn stone, of which so many astonishing remains are
scattered up and down the Asiatic and European world.* Many
such are to be found on Dartmoor, and were probably designed for
similar purposes. A striking specimen appears amidst the aboriginal
relics near Merivale Bridge, on the Walkham, in the western quarter.
Tapering in form, it presents, in a shaft of unwrought granite, twelve
feet high, and eight in girth, at the base, a rude type of the architec-
tural obelisk, and may be regarded as a characteristic illustration of
the designation by which monuments of this kind are described by
antiquaries — Maen Hir, the Long Upright Stone. When thus found
in connection with other relics, a variety of purposes to which these
insulated columns might have been applied, suggest themselves to the
mind;f but that the primary object of their erection, was that of com-
memorating remarkable or important events, there seems little reason
to doubt.

Imperfect but undoubted relics of these dwellings of the antient

* Burder Orient. Cust. vol. i. 40. — Lond. 1827. But Mr. Harcourt, in noticing
the vast numbers of such relics, in various parts of the world, attributes them to a much
earlier origin ; and regards them as so many undoubted memorials of the Deluge, in a
variety of forms ; symbolizing " The highest peak of the Diluvian Mountain," Le. one
of the columnar or pyramidal crags of Mount Ararat.

f SirR. G. Hoare states, that no example occurs in Wiltshire, — "but they are to
be found in other parts of our island, in Ireland, and in Wales." — Ant. Wilts, ii. 114.
This learned antiquary cites "the Devil's Arrows" in Yorkshire, and the rock pillars at
Trelech, in Monmouthshire, as examples ; but seems to have been ignorant of the exis-
tence of our fine Devonshire specimens, which, standing alone, are more decidedly mo-
numental than the former, which are found in connexion with others.

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

11

inhabitant*, are found in profusion in almost every part of Dartmoor.
It is worthy of remark how little attention has been
huts or I™** ky topographers and historians to these curious
dwellings. aud unquestionable vestiges of the primitive popu-
lation of our Island. The observations of Sir K. C.
Hoarc, in reference to Wiltshire, will, for the most part, apply with
equal if not with greater pertinence, to Devonshire. " It is somewhat
singular," remarks that learned antiquary, " that the discovery of our
British settlements should not have been made previous to my own
researches, and that they had escaped the notice of Aubrey, Stukcly,
and crery subsequent writer on our national antiquities. Their Lyes
seem to have been dazzled with the splendour of an Abury and a
Slonehenge, and to have noticed only the tumuli of the Britons,
without turning a thought towards the residences of the living, to
whose memory these sepulchral mounds were raised at their decease."
So tin.' Drcwsteignton Cromlech and Logan-stone are the theme of
every topographer; but the hundreds of ruined dwellings, scattered
over the highlands of Devonshire, appear, for the most part, to have
escaped observation, or to have been deemed unworthy of attention.

I have however observed, that these ruined abodes of our rude
forefathers are more numerous along the declivities, on the skirts
of the moor, and on the hill-sides in the interior, which slope
down to the water-courses, than in other parts. The principal
groups of houses, (villages or towns,) are invariably found in
rach situations. For miles in the heathy table land round Cran-
mere Pool, I have only been able to find a single insulated dwelling,
while in the slopes of almost all the valhes, especially those fronting
to the south and west, they arc of frequent occurrence. The large
aboriginal village near Mcrivale Bridge has a western aspect,
-i!uated on the side of a hill, gently rising from the banks of
the Walkham. The fortified town at G rimspound, with its Cyclopean
cir cum variation, is built on the western declivity of Hamildown,
with a spring rising on the eastern side of the inclosure. But in
whatever situations the rude dwellings of the primitive Britons are
found, whether inclosed within walls as at Grimspound, or in unwalled
village* as at Merivale, — they are all observed to be similar in
design, — and all, with only one ascertained exception, in the same
completely ruined condition, with uothing but the foundations and

42 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

the door jambs remaining. These hut circles, as they have been
called, to distinguish them from the sacred circles (from which they
differ essentially) are all circular in plan; and consist of granite
blocks, set firmly in the ground on their edge, and placed closely
together, (instead of at wide intervals as the sacred circle,) so as to
form a secure foundation for the superstructure, whether it were
constructed of stone and turf, wattle,* or other material. To adopt
the language of Whittaker, in describing the houses of the Lancashire
Britons, " they were, as we have every reason to suppose what the
general houses of the Gauls and Britons were, great round cabins,
built principally of timber on foundations of stone, and roofed with a
sloping covering of reeds." It would however appear that where
stone was abundant, as on Dartmoor, the cabins in some instances at
least were constructed entirely of stone, as the same author remarks
of the remains of British buildings in Anglesea and Wilts. In this
kind of masonry the interstices were filled with turf or earth, as,
according to Whittaker, was the practice in the Western Isles of
Scotland, who might have found modern examples of the same kind
of building in England, since this " rough-and-ready" method of
erecting walls seems to have been handed down from the earliest
times, and prevails among our Dartmoor peasants to this day.

The remains of the aboriginal habitations in Devon, as above-
mentioned, consist for the most part of foundations only, with the
door jambs, in many instances ; and the superstructure in these, was
most probably of wood and other perishable materials. But one
example has been discovered of the description just referred to, where
the hut is in a state comparatively perfect, having been constructed
entirely of stone and turf, the upper part only having fallen in. It
appears to have been shaped like a bee-hive, the wall being formed of
large stones, which seem to have been chosen with care, for the pur-
pose of forming the widely arched roof; and which evidently had
their interstices filled up with smaller stone and, probably, turf.

The Danmonian huts have their counterparts in the shealings of
the Orkneys, some of which are of this form, and are constructed of
stone and turf; others have a base of stone consisting of two circles
one within the other, with a roofing of fir poles, converging to a

• Junctse cortice rirgsc. — Ovid.

MONIMEKTAI, RELICS.

[mini and ihutched with branches 01 heather. Both kinds appeal to
luve existed on Dartmoor; and the Yestiges which still remain, sufK-
aceord with the descriptions given by Diodorua Sicnlus, and
Strabu, of the habitations of the Britons of their times, to induce the
belief that they had received the accounts from some of those enter-
prising mariners, who had seen the buildings, in their trading voyages
to the isles of tin.

The ruined basement, which constitutes the hut circle
in the majority of examples, of a single course of stones, but in some
instances, a double circle is observed. These stones stand generally
from eighteen inches to thirty above the surface. The door jambs
also of stone, are, in most cum--, higher placed, nearly at right angles
to the outline of the circle: in a very considerable proportion of
examples, the door faces the south. Theec dwellings measure from
twelve to thirty feet, diameter; the most asual BUO being about twenty -
six feet, though some occur of much larger dimensions, and these
were probably appropriated to the chieftain of the clan. Caaar
describes the houses of the Britons as similar to the dwellings of the
Gauls, lighted only from the door, and on this Fo&brokc remarks, that
his account was perfectly correct, from the representation of the
British cabins on the Antonine column, where they appear as circular
liuilrlings, with sloping or domical roofs, having an opening at the
top for the emission of smoke." The Britons of the interior were a
! people, as wc may safely conclude from Ctesar's account of
their mtide of subsistence ; " Interiores plerique frvmenta non sertmt ;
ted /arte et carnc twunt" The nomadic life and habits evidently
implied by this brief but comprehensive description, their inattention
:■:. and their subsisting upon milk and flesh, would be quite in
keeping with the nature off the wild uncultivated tracts of Dartmoor.
Hence we may infer that the Britons had out-buildings and inclosures
for the folding of their cattle, and that therefore some of the ruined
foundations which have been described above, are the remains of build-

• Kmcy. dnlig., p. 7G.

f Like the Komadei of the antient limes, and tlie more modern Tartars, our Britons
i-*ii]tii iipou the hillj, sheltered by liuta [rum the incl enjuncy of the weather, and subsist-
ing on Iho produce of their cattle, and the venison, which the wooda supplied in abun-
dance. The numerous remains we have discovered in each district of our country,
. jiiuve tlic original rrf-ukuiv uf ill? Ilritruin to linvc existed upon llie hills; but
in ■■■*, when civilued by the Homans, they probably bepan to clear Uie Allies
tram woods, and to seek more abeltered situations in the vales, and in the Ticiiiity ef
liven.— Ant. H'Uu , vol. iL, p. 106.

44 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

ings raised for purposes of this kind, and as in our own times, in most
cases, adjoining the habitations of the owners of the flocks and herds. .

For the protection of cattle, those curious inclo-
pounds or sures, which occur in so many parts of the moor,
ciRCUMVALLA- are traditionally supposed to have been constructed,
tions. an( j aie therefore popularly called pounds by the

moormen. That they were intended to protect the
inhabitants as well as their cattle, on any sudden emergency, there
can be no doubt, although it would appear that the most perfect of
them, Grimspound, was designed as the fortification of a permanent
settlement, rather than as a temporary strong-hold, to which, as we
learn from Caesar, the Belgic Celts were accustomed to retreat, with
their families, flocks, and herds, on the approach of danger. These
inclosures are either low walls of stones piled rudely together, in a
ridge-like form, or belts of huge granite blocks, placed erect in the
ground. Their general form is circular, but some examples are ellip-
tical. Remains of habitations are in most cases found in these primi-
tive entrenchments, so that we may justly conclude "that they were
originally constructed for purposes of security and defence.

A fine specimen occurs, on the commons, west of Castor Rock,
adjoining a moorland road which forms the boundary between the
parishes of Chagford and Gidleigh, where the Round Pound, as it is
called by the moormen, exhibits the foundations of a house within
the inclosure, which itself forms a kind of courtyard round the
dwelling, with the jambs at the entrance still erect.

Grimspound is by far the finest and most extraordinary of all
the relics of this class. Viewed from Hooknor Tor, which commands
its entire area, it presents to the spectator an object of singular curi-
osity and interest. Its situation is on the N.W. slope of Hamildon,
on the borders of the parishes of Manaton, North Bovey, and Widde-
combe. The wall or mound is formed of moorstone blocks, rudely
piled up, but so large as not to be easily displaced. The base of this
rampart covers in some parts a surface of twenty feet in breadth, but
the average height of a section taken at any point would not exceed
six feet. With the exceptions of an opening on the east and west
sides, the inclosure is perfect, surrounding an area of about four acres.
The original entrance is supposed to have been on the south The
vestiges of antient habitations within this primitive entrenchment are

MONUMENTAL RELICS. 45

numerous, (as already observed), and occupy the whole area, leaving
only one vacant spot at the upper end, which might have been a
kind of forum, or place of public concourse, for the inhabitants. A
spring, rising on the eastern side, and skilfully conducted for some
distance below the wall, supplied the inhabitants with pure water ;
and the whole presents a more complete specimen of an antient
British settlement, provided with means of protracted defence, than
will perhaps be found in any other part of the island. A path-road
from Manaton to Headland Warren runs through the inclosure.

Of the other kind of Cyclopean inclosure above referred to,
I know but one existing specimen, observed by us, first, in the year
1828, in a small pasture field about a furlong S.E. of Manaton Church,
and conjectured by Col. Hamilton Smith to have given the original
name to the parish, Maen-y~dun, the Fort, or Inclosure, of Erect
Stones. This appears to be a description of primitive circumvallation,
unknown to, or at least altogether unnoticed by, antiquaries. It is
elliptical in form, and in an exceedingly perfect condition. The
masses of which the fence is constructed are from four to six feet
high, placed in a double row, and set closely together. I noticed,
however, one stone so large that it fills the whole breadth, being
six feet wide by five thick. The diameters^rf the elliptical area are one
hundred and thirty-eight feet by one hundred. There are no vestiges
of any Druidical relic within the inclosure or near it, and the most
cursory observer will instantly remark that its character is totally
different from the Pounds, and still more so from the columnar
circle. As it is situated on comparatively low ground, where pas-
turage must have been abundant, it was probably erected for the
protection of cattle.

Wherever there are communities having settled
trackways habitations, however simple and uncultivated the
or people, we justly expect to find some traces of the

roads. means of communication between village and vil-

lage, or one settlement and another. Nor is Dart-
moor without numerous examples of this kind, affording proofs, in
addition to those already advanced, of its having been inhabited in
remote times. Trackways, under which designation those roads, or
causeways, which cross the moor in various directions are generally
known, Were no doubt often made to serve the purpose of boundary

46 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

lines. Sir R. C. Hoarc, describing those which he had examined in
Wiltshire, observes — " The lines of communication between one
village and another were by means of trackways, not paved or formed,
but following the natural ridge of the country, by which they have
gained the additional name of ridgeways, which some of them still
retain." But this description of our primitive British roads, must be
received with considerable modification, as applying to a country
where stone was so abundant, as in the Devonshire highlands. There
we find them constructed of stones (too large to be easily displaced)
irregularly laid down on the surface, and thus forming a rude but
efficient causeway, the general breadth of which is about five or six
feet, but which, in one example (near Three Barrow Tor), we found
to be fifteen feet, though much obscured by the encroaching vegetation.
The most extensive trackway which has come under our notice
is one which is supposed to traverse the forest in a line, bearing east
and west, from Hamilton to Great Mistor. Considerable portions of
the line can be traced in a direction corresponding to these points, but
a large extent of it rests rather upon the testimony of tradition than
upon the evidence of existing remains. The oral topographers of
the uplands, recognise this trackway as the * equator of the moorland
region, all above it being considered the north, and all below it the
south country, a circumstance which though it affords good evidence
of the antiquity of this relic, might be supposed to give it the
character of a boundary rather than of a road ; but which will have
less weight in this scale when we consider how frequently antient
roads are found to form boundaries between parishes, manors, and
other divisions of country, f This trackway may be observed in
high preservation coming down the northern slope of Chittaford
Down towards the banks of the East Dart. Here it can be traced
for a considerable distance, and is visible running due west, through
Hollocombe, and up the opposite hill to Little White Tor. Down
the common, towards the Dart, it bends towards the north-cast, but

* On the authority of the Rev. J. M. Mason, vicar of Widdecombe, whose intimate
acquaintance with the topography and traditions of the moor, is as well known to the
moorland tourist, as the obliging readiness with which he communicates the information,
which he so extensively possesses, on these subjects.

f A case which seems completely in point occurs, near the antient town of Ply mp ton,
where an old road that keeps the crest of the hill in a remarkably straight direction, is
still called Ridge Lane, and which for a considerable distance divides the parish of
Brixton from the two Plymptons,— St. Mary and Maurice.

MONUMENTAL RELICS. 47

in the level near Post Bridge, it takes a direction southward. With
some difficulty it may be detected through the boggy meadows below
Hartland farm. The peat-cutters are reported to come upon it,
below the surface in some places ; nor is it at all unlikely that the
encroachments of the vegetation, which in some instances are only
partial, should in others have extended over the whole breadth of the
trackway, and thus have obliterated all traces of it in the lower
grounds.

The trackways have no characteristic which would lead us to refer
their construction to the Soman period of British history, nor have
we documentary evidence that any of their roads ran through Dan-
monium, in a direction corresponding to that of the Dartmoor track-
ways. Neither are there in them any marks of modern construction,
as fences, or bounds ; the remains of the oldest cattle fences on the
moor, being so strikingly different, as to be evident to every observer
of common penetration.

Greatly similar in construction are the Tracklines,
tracklines, or Boundary Banks, which are invariably observed in

connexion with aboriginal dwellings and sepulchral
banks. remains. They are numerous in every part of the

moorlands, and like the same kind of primitive fosse
which Sir R. C. Hoare describes as of frequent occurrence "through-
out the downy district" of Wiltshire, " were originally thrown up for
tiie double purpose of defence and communication," serving for
"bounds and pathways, and connecting and enclosing dwellings. The
xnost striking specimen is perhaps that which is presented on the
south-eastern slope of Torrhill, near the road from Ashburton to
Moreton, below Rippon Tor. Here are evident marks of regularity
of design, and the tracklines intersect each other in such numbers that
nearly the whole hill-side is partitioned into squares, conveying in a
remarkable manner a lively idea of an aboriginal rural settlement, as
there are remains of many antient habitations, within their respective
closures. It would be too much to pronounce that we have evidence
°f a different fashion prevailing in these constructions, in different
W* of the moor, but on the south side of Hcytor, in the neighbour-
* to °d of Torrhill, they are observed in rectangular outlines, while on
^°*don, they are in curves ; on Archeton hill, and below Wistman's
Wood, in various irregular forms ; and near Littlcford Tor, one occurs

48 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

connecting two ruined dwellings in a line, which forms the segment
of a circle.

In a region such as Dartmoor, intersected by rivers

bridges. and brooks in all directions, and those streams so

peculiarly liable to be swollen by summer torrents,
and by the thawing of the accumulated snows of winter, the progress
of the trackways would be continually interrupted by these natural
and formidable obstacles. In some instances, they may be found
pointing to a ford, as would appear to be the case with the grand
central road, below Chittaford Down ; but as the East Dart would fre-
quently become impassable at that ford, the necessities of the case
would task the ingenuity of the earliest inhabitants* in contriving the
erection of a bridge. Happily the materials, which lay at hand, when
such a necessity arose to a primitive people, were of a more durable
kind than the felled tree, which in more wooded districts forms a
ready and not inconvenient bridge. Vast slabs of granite afforded the
means of constructing solid piers, by being merely laid one upon
another, yet stable enough, without cement or other adventitious
appliances, to breast the impetuous rush of the moorland torrents.
The necessity of arching was obviated, by massive imposts of a tabular
form, laid horizontally from pier to pier.f

Adjoining Post Bridge, (a modern county bridge over the East
Dart, traversed by the Tavistock and Moreton road) stands one of these
venerable and characteristic relics of aboriginal times, presenting a
truly interesting specimen of primitive Cyclopean architecture. The
piers are three, and these with the abutments form four sufficient open-
ings for the waterway. Its construction, though rude, is of the most
durable kind. No structure of ordinary stability could have withstood
the fury of the vehement Dart in his most turbulent moods, for twenty
or thirty centuries. The piers consist of six layers of granite slabs,
above the foundation. The superincumbent stones are singularly
adapted for the purpose to which they are applied. The centre

* In this immediate neighbourhood are many interesting remains of habitations on
the newly -inclosed estate of Mr. J. N. Bennett, bf Plymouth, who, in carrying out his
projected improvements, is laudably anxious for the due preservation of the relics of
antiquity.

f Some of these are formed of a single stone, and would then probably come under
the vernacular denomination, Clam ; a term also frequently applied to a bridge formed
of a plank, or single tree, although I have noticed a distinction sometimes made, the
wooden bridge being called a Clapper, and the stone, a Clam.

MONUMENTAL RELICS. 49

opening is narrower than the side openings ; the imposts here, were
two, one of these by accident or design has been displaced, and lies in
the bed of the river. These stones in general arc about fifteen feet
long, and six wide, and thus a roadway was made over which even
the scythed chariot of the Danmonian warrior might pass the river
in safety.

There are other specimens of the Cyclopean* bridge in various
parts of the moor, but this is by far the largest and most interesting,
and with the exception of the displacement of the stone above men-
tioned, is in good preservation. Mrs. Bray, in enumerating other local
antiquities, bears the testimony of an observant traveller to the
uncommon character of these curious structures. " It is not unlikely
that they are unique in their construction ; at least I can say that
though I have visited in England, South Wales, and Brittany, many

places celebrated for Celtic remains, I have never yet seen anything

like our ancient Dartmoor bridges." t

The camps, or earthworks, which are found on the
skirts of the moorlands, may be regarded as forming

FORTS AND . J ° ,

entrench- a connecting link between the aboriginal period of
ments. British history, and the succeeding acras of Roman

and Saxon dominion, since the same positions, from
their national capabilities, would be occupied, in many cases, by the
different invaders or defenders of the country in succession. Prcs-
tonbury on the Teign, near Drewsteignton, and Hembury on the
Dart, near Buckfastleigh, are both hill forts, so strikingly charac-
teristic of the Celtic method of castramctation, that we can scarcely
cr r in attributing their original construction to the Britons. We
learn from Cxsar that our warlike progenitors, when repulsed by the
Romans, betook themselves into strongholds, chosen it would appear
*rth great discernment, for their natural advantages, and strengthened
ty art with so much skill, as to deserve the commendation of a com-
^der so well versed in military affairs, as the conqueror of Gaul.
** e describes such a stronghold as excellently fortified by nature and
**• A favourite position, according to the same authority, was a

. t Nor have I observed any examples in North Wales, or in

in Westmorland or Cum-
H

M. /,.

/

50 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

pcninsulatcd hill, moated naturally, to a greater or less extent, by a
river, and fortified, on the most accessible side, by a ditch and ram-
part drawn across the neck of land. Such was the fortress of the
Aduatici, in Gaul, described by Caesar. " The Gaer-Dykes, or Coxall
Hill, where Caractacus was finally defeated, is a similar position,"
says Fosbroke, " on the point of a hill accessible only one way." The
same author observes, that " the British camps in general occupy the
summits of hills of a ridge-like form, and commanding passes."
This is precisely the description of Prestonbury, which is a Celtic
hill fortress, evidently of high antiquity, and of a most interesting
description, whether we consider its construction, or the situation it
occupies. This characteristic specimen of the primitive fortifications
of the Danmonian highlands, occupies the extreme point of a ridge-
like hill which forms the northern bank of the Teign, to the extent of
about a mile between Fingle and Clifford bridges. Immediately
above the former, it rises from the brink of the river in the form of a
bold headland, fully commanding the low ground beneath, from its
precipitous character. The hollow between Prestonbury, and the
acclivity which rises towards Drewsteignton Church, has evidently
the appearance of a pass from the champaign country, to the uplands
by the ford, which, doubtless, existed before the erection of the
oldest bridge, at or near, where the picturesque arches of Fingle now
span the rapid current of the Teign. Thus situated, Prestonbury
was admirably calculated for a watch-tower, as well as a fortress ; and
the strength of its entrenchments seems to indicate the importance
attached to the position. The extremity of this inland promontory
is the highest ground of the ridge, which on the south side is scarped
down by nature in a precipitous rocky glacis to the river's brink.
Nature having therefore so amply provided for the security of the
fortress on this side, less was demanded from the resources of arty so
that a rampart without any ditch, rising immediately from the pre-
cipice, was evidently thought sufficient. But on the north, where
there is a much gentler declivity landwards, the rampart is of a far
more formidable appearance, forming an entrenchment, in some parts
eight yards in height. The circumference of the circumvallation,
taken along the crest of the vallum, is five hundred and twenty
yards; and this part of the entrenchment, which maybe considered
as a kind of keep, was defended by two parallel outworks, constructed

MONUMENTAL lit I n 9. 51

the ridge of the lull. The ground decline slightly from the
side of the keep ; and at sixty yards distance', the iirst of the
outworks occurs — a rampart and a ditch crossing the ridge saddle-
wise, and dying away in the precipice on the south. The next en-
trenchment is thrown up at the distance of one hundred and twenty
yards ; here the vallum is loftier and the fosse deeper. Beyond this
line of entrenchment, the ground rises, till at the distance of about a
furlong cast of the keep, or principal work, it is lofty enough to com-
mand the fortified portion of the hill already described. At this
point, therefore, wc find fortifications erected to guard the approaches,
where the ridge gradually slopes eastward, and where easy access
might be otherwise obtained by the enemy. But when the whole of
the neck of land was thus fortified, ample means were afforded for
preventing surprise and for maintaining a protracted defence, if
necessary.

Here then on the northern verge of our moorland region, may be
observed a curious and interesting specimen of those strongholds, to
which the Celtic tribes were accustomed to retreat in cases of danger ;
for although such a post as this, would scarcely fail to be garrisoned
by the troops of the successive occupants or invaders of the country,
and might undergo some alterations, in the lapse of centuries, yet
enough of the primary features remain, to enable the antiquary to
trace the original fortifying of this remarkable hil!, to our warlike
Danmonian progenitors.

The monuments of antiquity, which have been thus far enume-
rated, indie ate a rude and simple state of society, and may be reasonably
traced to the requirements of a primitive people, suggested probably,
degree, by the nature and abundance of the materials sup-
plied by the surrounding district. The memorial of some compact
lictwecn two reconciled tribes would probably be needed, and the
neighbouring tor would alike furnish materials for another Jegar
Sahadutha (Gen. xxxi. 47} — the heap of witness, — as well as for
a memorial pillar, or for a conspicuous and durable landmark to define
the limits of adjoining pasture grounds. Their villages would re-
quire defence from hostile attack, or protection from the beasts of
prey, with which the rocky slopes and swampy tliickets of the Forest
abounded, and the unwrought bowlders of moorstone would readily
form the Cyclopean fortification of Grimspound. Their religion

52 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

demanded open shrines, — and a circle of rude granite obelisks, guarded
the primitive sanctuary from all profane intrusion. Or if we look
beyond natural circumstances, and should conclude that there would
appear to be more of premeditation and design, in the choice of their
materials, and in the forms employed; it might thence be inferred t
that the notions which led to their erection were not of indigenous
growth, but were brought from other lands, by the original settlers.
Since, also, points of resemblance have been observed between these
monuments and such as are found in eastern countries, or are known
to have existed there in the earliest ages, for purposes which are
recorded, although they do not establish the hypothesis of the colo-
nization of Britain from the east, they certainly favour an opinion
which is also countenanced by tradition, and which no less than eight
centuries since had assumed a shape sufficiently definite to be
preserved in one of the most valuable documents of mediaeval times,
the Saxon Chronicle, — which states that " the first inhabitants of this
country were Britons, who having come from Armenia established
themselves in the southern parts of Britain." The legendary fable
of the voyage of Brutus, from the Mediterranean to the shores of
Devonshire, his landing at Totness, and overthrow of his gigantic
antagonists at Plymouth, however unworthy of credit as to details,
deserve consideration, as indicating some substantial truths, just as
shadows, however distorted and exaggerated, are proofs of an actual
substance. And if there is any just foundation for the ingenious
theories of Mr. Harcourt, that the Albion of Aristotle* (Britain)
was one of the isles of the Blessed, of antiquity ; the fiaicaptay ytjaoc
of Lycophron (according to Tzetzes), that the celebrated Atlantis
may be more reasonably sought for in the British isles than else-
where, — that it was here that the slumbers of the Titanian Kronos
were guarded by the hundred-handed Briarcus, as reported by Plato,
that the island which was the abode of Neptune, was Britain, f and

* De Mundo, c. 3.

t I question whether the composer of the once popular sea-song, ever imagined that
he could boast such high authority as the celebrated Athenian philosopher for regarding
our island as the contemplated residence of the god of ocean.

Daddy Neptune one day unto Freedom did say —

If e'er I< should live upon dry land,
The spot I should hit on would be little Britain,
'Tis such a snug, tight little island.
Ouru) e>) teat rr\v vijaov fWf/cW rrjy AWavril-a \aywv. — Plato Critias.

JfTAL RELICS.

65

i [esperide* to which Hercules travelled to fetch the golden
fax Juno, were also the same islands, since Apollodorus
that the Hesperian apples were not in Libya hut at
the Atlas, among the Hyperboreans, • — -then shall we conclude, that
there is more cause fin believing that there existed a much earlier
communication by sea, between our islands and the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean, than has been generally supposed, and that this
may have partly arisen from the circumstance of the original coloni-
al the British isles having taken place by a voyage through
aits of Gibraltar.
The expedition of Brutus is alleged to have been undertaken about
U 1100, B.C., and in the first century after the Trojan war, from
which period, Britain is supposed to have taken its name from that
successful invader. These legendary tales may preserve the memorial
of a real descent, by some foreign chief, about the time in question,
and appear to intimate that the invaders had to encounter the oppo-
sition of a fierce and warlike people. Hence these traditionary
legends evidently assume that this island must have been peopled (it
may be presumed) for some ages, anterior to the reported landing of
the Trojan adventurers in the estuary of the Dart, and their conflicts
at the mouth of the Plym — both Dartmoor rivers, and therefore iden-
tifying these legends with the vimue of this treatise. But it is far
!G probable that the truth of these fables will be found in a Tyrian
expedition, rather than in a Trojan, when impartial history,! regarding
imant* with equal eye, (Tros, Tyriusre, nulla discrimine,)
to decide the rival claims, since we are assured that the enter-
prising traders of Phoenicia had brought tin by sea, from some
VMrrn country before the time of Homer, and that it is not more
,i!"l-.li|i' that Brutus, a great grandson, of iEneas, ever made an

■ - Totness, and gave his name to Britain, than that he
I'l'inild! the city of Tours, in Gaul, as gravely asserted by Geoffrey
sf afotuiumth. Much less fanciful is the etymology which woidd

■ final designation of our island, with the learned Bochart,
Swuues, and others, from two Phoenician words — Barat-anae, the

tt if Ddw ii., 150, 151, 152,

1 for wlioliy ti-jcctiiiB." snya Etahnji X ii.'olson, " all thai is contained
* tttl lkir,ry. believing there is aomcwb«t of Itutliin it, under a mifliij hrap of monkish
liiA Uistor. library. LuudoD, 171-1, p. 37,

land of tin, translated in after-times, by the Greeks, Cassite
since it is so far supported by historical evidence ; as we learn from
classical writers, that the Phtcnicians" were the earliest traders upon
record, to the tin counties beyond the pillars of Hercules, in the
Hyperborean ocean.

The period being determined, about which the Phoenicians first
visited Britain, we shall obtain some historical data for calculating the
tera of the aboriginal relics of Dartmoor. We learn from antiquity
with what jealous vigilance they guarded the lucrative monopoly of
the tin trade. The account of the Phoenician shipmaster, who ran
his vessel aground, to prevent his course from being traced by a
Roman galley, and his reimbursement by his grateful countrymen, is
well known. It is also recorded that the Greeks of Marseilles, who
had been long anxious to obtain a share in this traffic, were at last
successful in their attempts to discover the Cassiteridcs, which became
known to them B.C. 330. But Herodotus, more than a century
before, whilst he confesses his ignorance of the precise situation of
the Cassitcrides, mentions tin, without any question, as the product
of the extreme regions of Western Europe, with which he was
unacquainted, f Tin was one of the commodities, in the fairs of Tyre,
enumerated by the prophet Ezekicl, (B.C. 595,) and was known to
the Jews in the time when Isaiah prophesied, (B.C. 760.) If there-
fore tin was generally recognised by the common consent of antiquity,
as a product of the Cassiterides, and an import of the Phoenicians, wo
are carried back to the age of Homer, who mentions the metal as
forming an ingredient in the manufacture of armour in those early
ages of the world. But if, with the apprehension of an anachronism,
in this particular, we hesitate to go back to the siege of Troy, i
B.C. to 1200,) there can be no difficulty in admitting that a v
from the Levant to Britain might have been accomplished i
remote a period as about one thousand years before the Chi
(era. The learned Heercn fixes the flourishing period of Tyre and
the Phoenician states, from 1000 to 332 B.C., nor does it seem

* 1SULi>i> Nicolwn con temp luoualy dismisses iho speculations of Sammes about
"thi! Plitrmcians his only darlings ;" but subsequent rciearcbes of the learned Lare
shown that opinions which have been entertained from the times of Nennius. and were
ndtocnted by liuchitrt, nrc not to be summarily disposed of, without investigation, as the
buielcss rctcries of an enthusiastic, but ill-informed antiquary.

t " Neither am I acquainted with the Cassitcrides Ishinds from whence tin coma
tons."— Hebqd. Thalia tii., 115. Gronov.

Jironism,
jy, (1190

,d .,'■ -,
Christian

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

55

without the bounds of probability to suppose, that their enterprising
navigators possessed, even in those early times, the means, aB they
doubtless had the desire, of extending their policy, of foreign colo-
nization, even to the remote isles of Britain. A prominent feature
in that policy was the forming of their mercantile settlements on islands
I peninsulas. We know that they pushed their discoveries, by
coasting Africa, in a southern course, after passing the Pillars of
Hercules. There does not therefore appear any sufficient reason for
questioning the probability of their having (as early as the reign of
David or Solomon) voyaged northwards along the coasts of Spain and
Gaul, until they reached the islands of Baratanac, the country of tin.
The aboriginal period of our history, characterized by the monu-
ments above enumerated, may therefore be regarded as commencing
before the arrival of the Phoenician mariners, and as extending over
the time when the tin trade was carried on by them, and subsequently
by the Phoca? an -Greeks, from Marseilles, previously to the invasion
of the Romans. Among those relics, examples of two kinds of for-
i have been mentioned. Such as that of PreBtonbury, evi-
dencing more artificial preparation than the simple circumvallation of
Grimspound, may with great propriety be assigned to a period when
the rudiments of barbarian castrametation had been improved by
intercourse with the classical nations. But proofs of the presence of
ihoe enterprising navigators may be traced with far more certainty
in the vestiges of works, — more congenial to the commercial spirit of
lot merchant-princes of Tyre and Sidon, and more germane to the
news with which they dispatched their argosies, to brave the terrors
of tin.' Hyperborean Ocean, — in the remains of primitive mining
operations, which are still to be found in various parts of the moor.

Polwhele remarks that the parishes of Manaton, Kingstcignton,
«d Teigngrace, present examples of these antient works* The two
«Kr he beyond our moorland district, towards the estuary of
llcTeign, but the former is one of the border parishes of the Forest,
tad contains many of the remains in question ; which, although it is
e to assign them any date, with even an approach to histo-

ry nothing of Cornwall, there Me numberless stream worka on Dartmoor

- '~ilies, which have been forsaken for opes. In the parishes of Mannlun,

a, »nd Teigngrace, are many old tin-works of this kind, whifcb the iiiliabi-

e to thai period when wolves and winged serpents were no strangers to the

-Hittor, Fievis of Dtvon, p. 110.

56 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

rical certainty, have been generally conjectured to be the relics of
British operations, under the direction of the Phoenician traders.
Speaking of these primitive stream works, Polwhele goes on to observe
that " the Bovey Heathfield hath been worked in the same manner.
And indeed all the vallies from the Heathfield to Dartmoor bear the
traces of shoding and streaming, which I doubt not was British or
Phoenician." Not only in the parish of Manaton, but in those of
Chagford, Walkhampton, Sheepstor, and Lydford, (the Forest,) have
I noticed many similar remains, all in situations favourable for the
peculiar operations of streaming. And without controverting the
opinions of our zealous antiquary, that some of these may present
veritable examples of forsaken mines of the British and Phoenician
period, we cannot suppose that of all the vestiges of these antient
works, none are to be assigned to a later age. The nature of the case
would rather suggest the inference, that as mining operations have
been carried on in our county from the times of the Phoenicians
downwards, so the existing relics, if discrimination were possible,
would be attributable to different adventurers, and to successive ages
and generations. Leaving those speculations therefore in the obscu-
rity and uncertainty wherein time has enveloped them, and which
can never be dispelled, let us proceed to collect the few scattered
rays of light which antient history casts upon the mining operations
and commercial transactions of the period in question, as far as they
come within the plan of the present treatise.

Britain had long been regarded as isolated from the rest of man-
kind, no less by its remote and insular position, but by the fierce and
intractable character of its inhabitants — toto divteos orbe Britannos.
The jealous policy of the Phoenicians would doubtless be directed to
foster this opinion as much as possible, to which they themselves had
probably first given currency, from the desire of preserving in all its
integrity their much valued monopoly of the British commerce.
Hence as we have 6cen in the case of Herodotus, little was known by
antient authors on the subject of the Cassiterides, beyond the fact of
their existence, amidst the fabled horrors of the Hyperborean sea.
But after the Greeks of Marseilles had succeeded in obtaining a
knowledge of the country, and a share in its valuable trade, the
philosophers and historians of antiquity had the means of acquiring
some information, on a subject of no little interest, which at no distant

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

57

period, were further enlarged by the invasion of Ca?sar. The late

Smcoe, u recorded hy Polwhelc, accurately applies Caesar's

notice of the metallic productions of Britain to Devonshire and

wr. "When Ciesar, speaking of Britain, says Naacitur Hi
plumbum album in Mediterranets regionibm, in marilimts feiTum, sed
ejus exigita est copia, he elucidates our western history. To Ciesar it
appeared that tin came from the inner country."" Under the
general appellation of the midland or rather, perhaps, inland parts,
Dartmoor must have been included, as well as the metalliferous
districts of Cornwall, since we have abundant testimony, as already
shown, that the south- western angle of Britain was the principal
scene of antient mining operations. But CVsar, relying on hearsay
evidence, collected probably in Kent, had been evidendy misled as
to the exact situation of the principal tin mines ; some of which, even
in our moorland district, were too near to the coast, to be correctly
described as existing in the interior. "With regard to iron, his obser-
vations are borne out by the presence of that valuable metal at Shaugh
Bridge, on the southern verge of the moor, within six miles of
the sea.

The Greek historian, Diodorus Sicutus, who nourished about
40 B.C., enters more into detail, and lias recorded some particulars
of antient mining operations and the tin trade carried on, in the
southern parts of Britain, of the most interesting character, lie
incidentally notices that the soil of the tin country was rocky, but
had soft veins of earth running tlirough it, whence the metal was
extracted. He also describes the principal tin mart, in a celebrated
passage which has exercised the ingenuity, and divided the opinions,

' Bsive commentators and antiquaries. Describing the smelting
of tin, by the Britons, he says, " When they have cast it into ingots
they carry it into an adjacent island, which is called Iktis. For when
it is low water, the intervening space is left dry, and they carry into
that bland great quantities of tin, in waggons." Henry, the his-
torian, as well as Whittaker, misled probably by the name, hastily

• "The original ro.id by which this tin rvns conveyed, rtiould \«- an object of your
lnwsligalion; and probably you will lied it carried over fords and farming towns in its
MOgTMt between Dartmoor, and where Sir R, Woralcy now trFices il 10 have entered ilio
We of Wight. On these fords, too. you will probably find a Roman Settlement, and uot
^posmhly, account for Crockem Tor, Chagford, &c.. haying been formerly places of
•amine*." — Gen. Smcoe to Re». R. Polwhele. Hittor. yieitiof Dtvon, p. III).
1

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

conclude Iktis to be the Isle of Wight, without considering the
insuperable difficulties which this hypothesis presents.* And since,
among other speculations as to the real position of this island,
Polwhelc has assigned it a site which would constitute it the em-
porium of the aboriginal Dartmoor stannaries, his exposition of the
curious and interesting passage of Diodoms, as far as it bears upon
our local antiquities, deserves consideration.

After disposing of the arguments of Whittaker.t Borlase, and
Pryce, in favour of the Isle of Wight, Scilly, and Falmouth, Polwhelc
enters into an elaborate and ingenious disquisition to prove that the
much-controverted situation of Iktis, is to be found in Plymouth
Sound. Without referring to extraneous points, it will suffice to
advert to those bearing upon our subject. The same objections which
militate against the adoption of the Isle of AVight as the stannary
emporium of the south-west, lie in a great degree against Scilly, or
even the Black Rock islet, at Falmouth, with relation to Devonshire ;
whereas the geographical position of Plymouth Sound, at the mouth
of two navigable rivers, running down from the heart of the tin
districts of Devon, and those of East Cornwall, would offer facilities,
common to both counties, which no other place presents. We can
also comprehend the sending of tin from the western districts, to an
emporium higher up the Channel, which had already become (as is
highly probable) an exporting place for its own neighbourhood ; but
we can hardly imagine it probable, that tin from Dartmoor and
Hingston Down, would be sent so far west as Falmouth, and still leas,

• If the antient Vcctis were the island mean! by Diodorui, the improbable pos-
tulate is indispensable, thai the massive met it 1 must have been brought to the ihoicsof
Hampshire, opposite to the Isle <>f Wiplit, from the south of Devon and the extremiucfl
of Cornwall, (Bctsrium,) either by land or by sea. If by land, the vehicles as net) as
the roads of our aboriginal ancestors, must hare been in a slate of advancement for
which few would be prepared to give them credit. If by sea, the argument requires that
Ihcse antient traders should have shipped their tin on the coasts of Daumoninm, and
then steered up the channel to some port of the Belgic Brilona, opposite to the Isie of
Wight, on the coast of Hampshire, where they landed their cargo, as it would seem for
the mere pleasure of having it transported across the strait, in waggons, {when the chan-
nel became dry, if ever it did, nt the ebbing of the tide.) instead of adopting the more
obvious and direct method of landing the tin, immediately on the island, even if they
did not make directly for the coast of fiaul, from their original port, which would more
prabably have been the course adopted.

t Borlnse confesses himself at a loss
to have been the largest of the Scilly Isles, and idenlici
Pryce discovers it in the Black Hock, in Falmouth Harbour; Polwhele claims the
honour for St. Nicolas' Island, in Plymouth Sound ; and Hawkins, in his " Tin Trade
of Cornwall," pronounces that it is St, Michael's Mount, in which opinion he is followed
by Dr. Barham, Da la Heche, and others.

MONUMENTAL REMCS.

as Scilly, to be shipped for Brittany, in its way to Marseilles. The
position of Plymouth, with reference to the parts where the metal
was raised, as well as to the country for which it fw to be shipped,
is thus far favourable to the claims of St. Nicolas. But there is one
objection to this theory which has been overlooked by its advocate.
Diodorus intimates that the metalliferous district, which he describes,
is in the neighbourhood of the promontory Belerium. If by this, we
are to understand the Land's End, as is generally supposed, we should
be scarcely justified in allowing the expression, Kara to ai-pwrijpioy to
taXoifiyoy BMptov, « raruirovtrfc, so wide a scope, as to embrace
Plymouth Sound; unless we should conclude that this is another
instance in which the imperfect geographical knowledge of the Greeks
cannot be relied upon. It might then be supposed that the Belerium
being a striking object to the navigators, and some tin mines being
observed by the Greek traders in its neighbourhood, in such a general
des cri pt i on as that of our historian, other mining districts, though at
a considerable distance, might possibly be included. And whilst we
should infer from natural circumstances, that the products of the
rtannary districts on both sides of the Tamar would be exported from
the mouth of that river, we arc fortunately in possession of unques-
tionable historical evidence, that this noble and convenient roadstead
vas known to the Greeks, at the period under consideration, by
the appellation of Ta^ipuv hpo\>! — Tamari Ostia of the Bomans,
wd thus far might have been the scene of the famous emporium
of Diodorus.

But should we advance a step farther with Polwhele, and fix
upon St. Nicolas' Island," as the very spot, an obstacle of great
local importance, which appears to have escaped his notice, imme-
dately presents itself. He supposes that the isthmus, over which,
& die i'bb, the tin waggons passed, lay between the island and
Mount Edgcumbe ; and that in the reef of sunken rocks, known to
4is day, as the Bridge, may be found the remains of a neck of land
"Me passable at low water, but since swept away by the action of the

* Budon i> of opinion that Uii§ island ma; have been mentioned under the name or
"JMrwurih. upwards of a thousand years ago. " In the Saxon's Heptareby, this
jf™ 1 * (Plymouth) was called Tunerweorth, (as ia to bo read in the life of St. Indiactus),
* 81 Kicolas' Island be col meant thereby; for Weorth, in Saxon, is B liter island.
Wttd describes this islet, as " lying at the moulhes of Tnmar and Plym rivers," but
"* 'is possessing, in his time, any of the peculiar characteristics of

60 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

waves. That the sea has encroached upon the land in many parts of
our island, is a fact too well known to admit of dispute ; but in
Plymouth Sound, the converse appears to have taken place, from a
fragment of raised beach which was laid open some years ago, under
the Hoe, opposite St. Nicolas' Island, and from the well-established
historical fact that, in past ages, the tide flowed up from Millbay over
the marshy plain between Plymouth and Stonehouse, so that the
channel between the island and the mainland was probably much
deeper 2000 years since, than it is now, and the possibility of the
existence of an isthmus, over which waggons could pass at low water,
scarcely imaginable. But even if such a means of communication
had existed, the slightest acquaintance with local circumstances, would
immediately show that this islet must have been most inconveniently
situated for the purposes in question. The tin waggons from Dart-
moor could never reach it without first crossing the wide estuary of
the Tamar ; and those from Hingston Down,* and the Cornish side
of the river, in general would have to approach the peninsula of
Mount Edgcumbe by a circuitous and incommodious route. But
although these objections appear fatal to the claims of St Nicolas, in
particular, they do not in the least apply to Plymouth Sound in
general; and taking into consideration the acknowledged retro*
cession of the sea, from this coast, we may perhaps look with better
success, for such an island as Diodorus describes, to the site of
Plymouth itself. Feeling persuaded that the advantages of such a
port, as must have existed at the mouths of the Plym and Tamar,
could not have been overlooked, either by the Phoenicians or Massilian
Greeks, I think it must be conceded that in all probability, the ore
raised in the neighbourhood would be sent down to that point on the
Plymouth coasts, which at that period was the most favourable for
embarkation. And if the sea has receded from the inlets and creeks

* That this district was the scene of antient mining operations, may be gathered from
a popular tradition current in the time of Carew, no less than from the evidence afforded
by the present appearance of this conspicuous hill. " From Plymouth Haven," writes
the old Cornish Chronicler, " Hengsten Downe presenteth his waste head and tides to
our sight. This name it borroweth of Hengat, which, in the Saxon, signifieth a Aom,
and to such daintie beasts, it yieldeth fittest pasture. The country people hare a byt-
word, that

Hengsten Downe well y wrought

Is worth London town, dear ybought,

Which grewe from a store of tynne, in former times there digged up. M — Caabw*s
Surrey of Cornwall,

MONUMENTAL RELICS.

61

|he harbour, to the extent that some have imagined," an island
answering to all the conditions required, might be found in Plymouth
Hoe, and in the parts adjoining, separated at full tide from the rising
ground, north of the present town, but connected with it at low
water by the dorsal tract, which, amidst the chances and changes of
twenty centuries, still exists in the direction of Old Town, sloping on
one side to the Frankfort marshes, and Millbay, and on the other, to
Sutton Pool. Or if it should be deemed, that we have no sufficient
data for concluding that the water ever reached so high a level, as
must necessarily be presumed, if the Hoe were originally an island,
there con be no reasonable doubt that the corresponding hill on the
opposite side of Catwater, was once insulated by the union of the
waters of the Lary with Sutton Pool, and that Catdown would
probably then, at low tide, be approachable by an isthmus, not
unlikely lying, in the same direction, as the old lane leading from
Tothill to Catdown. The same rise of tide which in old times flooded
the Plymouth marshes and brought the sea to Frankfort Gate, would
abundantly suffice to cover the comparatively low ground between
e Lary and Sutton Pool. Thus if the reference to Belerium could
; satisfactorily explained, f an island would be found in all other
respects, answering with singular exactness to the description of
Diodorus, and most conveniently situated for the Danmonian miners
bring their metal from the interior, for shipment to Gaul, for
Marseilles, or, in earlier times, for the Levant direct, by the Straits
br altar.
But whether the claims of Plymouth to the disputed honours of
;tis be allowed or not, it can scarcely be questioned that trans-

* Modem geologists assert, that in past ages the shores of the English Channel

re been raised forty or fifty feet ; and if, according to a lute statement of the learned

tuuui professor. Dr. Forctiouimer, before the ficitish Association, the disruption of

igland from the Continent occurred not more than £500 or 3,000 years ago, we could

r*»dily imagine that last changes must have taken place, along the whole iinc of the

rout, from the Land's End to toe Kore, even if we bad not direct testimony to

thefket-

t If the term Cassiterides included all the tin country of the western peninsula.

Might not BtUrium have been the Greek appellation for the Roman Jvgum Ocrinum, (the

itainoua ridge reaching from Dartmoor to the Land's End), and the name of the

onlory, in which it terminates, put by synecdoche, for the whole chain ? Were

hypothesis tenable, "the dwellers below the promontory called Belerium" of

.oni!, might be fairly interpreted us describing the inhabitants of the mining districts

the south coasts of Devon and Cornwall. Or, since the informants of Diodorus

'Iwbly made the Land's End first, in their voyage, they might hare termed the country

itwaxri, the coast •' below Belerium ;" if so, the term might hare included, as above,

U Ibt maritime inhabitants of the stannary districts of Dnnmoniorn.

actions similar to those described by the Greek historian, from the
very force of circums lances, must have taken place at some part of the
shores of Plymouth Harbour. The contrary supposition, that wiili
every facility for exporting the metal, raised almost on the very
coast,* the traders should have conveyed the ponderous commodity
by waggons to some distant port, is too absurd to be admitted. If the
Dartmoor miners then, had not the identical Iktis, at the mouth of
their rivers, and in sight of their southernmost hills, they had doubt-
less a similar emporium on their shores, and the interesting des-
cription of the maritime Britons, may be fairly applied to the
Danmoniaus, of the neighbourhood of Tamari Ostia, as well as to
the other trading inhabitants of the Cassiterides. " The inhabit. in is
of that part of Britain, below the promontory called Belerium, are
exceedingly hospitable, (fiAcfo-or, fond of strangers,) and on account
of their intercourse with foreign merchants, arc more civilized in
their habits of life."t

With reference to the existence of some kind of emporium on
the coast, at a convenient distance from the mining districts of Dan-
monium, it may be further observed, that the place known to the
Greeks by the name of Tamara, had obtained sufficient celebrity in
antient times, to be mentioned by Ptolemy, among the few places
which his scanty information enabled him to enumerate on the
Danmonian shores. This could scarcely have arisen from any other
cause, thau the natural advantages of Plymouth Sound, — its con-
tiguity to the stannary region, and the consequent growth of an
emporium for the staple commodity of the country, at some con-
venient spot, in the parts adjacent. Had there been no direct

* The tidal waters of the I'lym arc known to have flowed, in former times, over
great part of the Saltrum marshes, towards Plymplon St. Mary church, so thai tin
mining ground, near Henicrdon, Newnhajn and Boringdon Park, was much nearer lo
the estuary than at present.

+ It is not impossible that the precincts of Dartmoor, may hare supplied materials for
the dockyards of Greek uaval architects two Ihousnnd years ago. Polwbele has noticed
a circumstance which is worth observing. " That famous ship which was built at Syracuse
under the direction of Archimedes, is at once a proof of the proficiency of the Greeks in
the maritime arts, and of their connexion with Britain. According to Athemcus, Lbs
ship had three masts, of which the second and third, were costly procured; but it was
long before a tree for the mainmast could be found. At length a proper treo ««•
discovered, in the mountains of Britain, and brought down to the sea coast by r> famoua
mechanic, Phileas Tauromenilei. This is a curious fact. And the mountain! of Britain,
I coDccive, were the mountains of Danmoniuui. Id other parts of the island the Greeks
had very slight connexions. It was with Daumonium they traded." — Hit. i'ieu; 14S.

MONUMENTAL EF.LICS.

etidonce of the existence of such a port, nature would have indicated,
that as a roadstead like Plymouth Sound, and such harbours as
Hamoaze and Catwatcr, could not have escaped the notice of the
Phoenician and Greek traders, so the circumstance of their resorting
there, for purposes of traffic, would naturally lead to the gradual
of some kind of port, of greater or less consequence. But having
the testimony of Ptolemy, to the existence of a town in the neigh-
bourhood of the Tamar, it is no longer matter of conjecture or
inference, hut an historical fact, that such a place near the coast of
Duunonium, was known to the Greeks and other classical nations, in
the age of Ptolemy, and in all probability long before. Nor is it
lev certain, that with the sole exception of Isca, (Exeter,) we can
fii the situation of Tamara with more accuracy, than any other of the
Dmraonian towns and places enumerated by Ptolemy. Its name
identifies it with the banks of the Tamar, and, most probably, with
the immediate neighbourhood of the estuary, since this author men-
tiunj, borh Tafiapov *ora/tov tc/foX?, (Tamar Mouth,) and Tamara.
Guided by the landmarks of nature, and the evidence of etymology,
many antiquaries have agreed, that the anticnt Tamara is to be sought
it in the modern Tamerton ; a conclusion at which those who are
wt acquainted with local circumstances, will scarcely fail also to
iniTc, although others, with Horsley, have supposed it to be Saltash.
Dr. BorIa.se, referring to Ptolemy, says " The third city is Tamara,
I "tin- h the name of the river Tamar, is too strong to he questioned,
wd Tamerton, on the eastern bank of the river, lies almost opposite
to Saltash, and must have been the place." Polwhele, venturing, on
'fry Blender and questionable authority, to divide antient Dan-
Be-aium into cantredg, (which he says, gave rise to hundreds,) finds
the principal town of the cantred of Tamara in Tamerton or Plymouth.
Without adopting this author's fanciful opinions, on the subject of
Ida supposed cantreds, we may conclude that there was a district
rf wme extent, known by the name of Tamara, comprehending,
Mips, the tract of country hounded by the Tamar, the Dart-
*w Kills, the Plym, and Plymouth Sound ; and that within
«** boundaries, at the village of King's Tamerton, in the parish of
the true site of the Tamara of the antients, will pro-
ud, opposite to Saltash, on the Roman road to the ferry,
»q from its commanding situation, in full view of the estuary of the

64 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Tamar, (Ta/xdpoi/ kjSoX^,) and therefore a situation likely to be fixed
upon, by the Danmonian Britons or the Phoenician traders.

Since Diodorus describes Britain as a populous island, (iroXi/avfl/Nrfxoc
vrjvoc) we may justly conclude, that this description must have applied
to that part of the country, concerning which he had received the
most accurate information, viz., the metalliferous districts. Hence
we infer that the south of Devon, before the Roman sera of our
history, was inhabited by a numerous population ; — that on the coast,
at the mouths of the rivers flowing down from the hilly country,
where the staple commodity of the island was raised, there would be
smelting establishments, and ports for the shipment of the metal by
foreign merchants ; — that the maritime inhabitants, from their inter-
course with these traders, became comparatively civilized, and pro-
bably adopted many foreign practices and opinions, whilst the
dwellers of the interior retained their nomadic habits, and preserved
their primitive superstitions, amidst the Forest wilds and rugged
steeps of Dartmoor, as Carrington soothly sings,

These silent vales have swarm'd with human life, —

These hills have echo'd to the hunter's voice,—

Here rang the chase, — the battle burn'd, — the notes

Of Sylvan joy at high festivities,

Awoke the soul to gladness ! Dear to him

His native hill, — in simple garb attired,

The mountaineer here rov'd

******

'Tis said (hat here
The Druid wander'd. Haply have these hills
With shouts ferocious, and the mingled shriek,
Resounded, when to Jupiter upflam'd
The human hecatomb. The frantic seer
Here built his Sacred Circle ; for he lov'd
To worship on the mountain's breast sublime —
The earth his altar, and the bending heav'n
His canopy magnificent. The rocks
That crest the grove- crown'd hill he scoop'd to hold
The Lustral waters ; and to wondering crowds
And ignorant, with guileful hand, he rock'd
The yielding Logan.

COSDON BEACON.

60

Pound, and, with the exception of a small portion of the circum-
ference, in a remarkably perfect condition. The area inclosed by it,
is boggy ground, although it is very nearly on the highest part
of the mountain on which Cosdon Beacon stands, at an elevation of
1792 feet above the level of the sea.

This far-famed beacon bears nearly due south from Belstonc
church, and was long thought to occupy the loftiest spot in Devon-
shire, and consequently in the south of England.* But from obser-
vations made since the Ordnance Survey, it has been ascertained that
Yes Tor, about eight miles to the west, is the highest point of our
Dartmoor range ; but Cosdon, apparently, has the advantage, from
rising immediately, without any intervening high grounds, from the
lowland country at its base. From this circumstance, it has more the
appearance of a true mountain, than any other of the Dartmoor hills,
though Mister cannot be regarded as a rival of mean pretensions,
seen from the gorge of the Walkham.

The cairn is about ninety yards in circumference, and appears
to have been opened in two distinct places, where there arc hollows
of considerable size ; but for what purpose, these hollows have been
dug, does not appear, unless with the view of forming a kind of
hearth for the reception of the fuel of which the beacon fire was
made. Few places could have been chosen more admirably adapted
for the purpose of rousing the whole neighbourhood than this, where

can sweep three-fourths of the untire horizon, and look forth
upon the greatest part of North Devon, with large portions of the
western and eastern districts of the county, and sonic of the loftier
poults of Cornwall, Somerset, and Dorset. Exmoor looms large and
distinct in the north, and it is said that the Bristol Channel can be
seen in a clear day, which is perfectly possible, while there is no
doubt that the English Channel, off Teignmouth, is distinctly visible.
Imagine then, the bale-fire kindled on this commanding eminence.
I ley tor, which rises full in view against the south-eastern sky, would
instantly catch the intelligence, and repeat the signal to Buckland
Beacon above Ashburton, whence it would be as speedily comrau-

to Brent. Brent would report to its neighbour the Eastern

66 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

great mail road from Exeter to Okehampton and Cornwall, which
sweeps round the very base of Cosdon HilL Here an unpretending
but convenient inn affords accommodation, such as may well content
the moorland tourist, bent on exploring the " wild and wondrous
region" extending beyond the mighty eminence, which towers so
majestically above the village nestling among the thickets, that fringe
the rocky channel of the Taw, here issuing forth into the champaign
country, from a noble mountain gorge. "Without pausing to ascertain
the exact position of Hoga, let it suffice that it must have been suffi-
ciently near to Cosdon, to authorize our making Sticklepath the
starting-point of our Forest perambulation.

Proceeding along the high road up the ascent from whence
the village derives its name,* at its western extremity, we notice on
the left hand, hard by the way-side, and on the verge of a rocky
common, the shaft of an antient cross, formed of the durable granite
from the neighbouring mountain. It stands nearly six feet high, is
about eleven inches in thickness, and has its sides rudely sculptured
in curves, lines, and crosses, with little regularity of design ; and
which having been much defaced, by the weather or by violence, are
scarcely discernible, unless the sun shines full upon the shaft
Adjoining the cross, a path winds away into the upland gorge, formed
by Cosdon on one side, and the Belstone hills on the other. Looking
down upon the windings of the Taw, with the mill and the cottages
peering through the trees, on its banks, we are strongly reminded
of some of the softer features of Welsh scenery in similar situations.
A rugged path through broken ground, high above the river's western
bank, leads to Taw Marsh, a plain of considerable extent, and
remarkably level, dotted with huge masses of granite and surrounded
by lofty eminences, with all the features and incidents characteristic
of the peculiar scenery of the moor, t Here is one of the spots
where the evidences of some mighty convulsion of nature, strike
the beholder with astonishment, and carry irresistible conviction to the
mind. The characteristic tors of Belstone, cresting the rocky hills on
the west, their sides sloping down to the marshy level through which
the Taw winds its way, are strewn with blocks and slabs of granite,

* Stickle-path, the steep road, from Sticcle, (Sax.) steep and path. In the Devon-
shire vernacular, we still retain the Saxon word ; a stickle roof, is a high-pitched roof.
t See Plate — Scene on the Taw.

lAH M.lltSH (|7

forming those aggregations of stone, which are known to the
moormen by the name of Clatters,* a term expressive of their con-
fused appearance. Among those may be noticed, near the river's
brink, one of unusual size, and so singularly shaped, that it has been
'I by some to have been artificially reduced to its pretest
. bat a slight examination is sufficient to prove that Nature
alone has formed its rude outline, like a mimic gnomon of colossal
proportions, and planted it firmly in the ground as if to mark the
progress of the silent hours of the desert. Down through the
rugged and precipitous glen on the south comes the Taw, white with
foam, and hastening to sooth his ruffled waters in the level chanmi
of the plain below. Here, in Taw Marsh, the philosophic observer
may detect evidences of the existence of groves and woods, which
oacc appear to have clothed the Vidhes and accUvities of the moor,
to ■ far greater extent than at present. Deep in the antiseptic soil,
here, and in similar situations, whence the peat has been removed,
branches, trunks, and roots of trees, chiefly oak and birch, havo been
frequently found, which on exposure to the air speedily acquire great
hardness. The birch, as it is well known, delights in the moorland
soil, nor is there any just reason for questioning that the trees thus
exhumed, once flourished on the spot where they were afterwards
submerged in the morass, having probably been gradually undermined
by the saturation of the ground with excessive moisture.

Leaving these speculations, and the boggy level, which has
given rise to them, let us take advantage of the natural stepping-
stones, which, during the summer, may be found in the wider parts
of its channel, to cross the Taw, and scale the steeps of Cosdon,
which rises abruptly from the eastern bank. Advancing, up the
ascent, we shall soon look back upon Belstone church ; and taking its
tower for a landmark, shall find the advantage of making for the
beacon on the summit of the mountain, by shaping our upward
course in a south-easterly direction. We shall thus also come upon
one of those antient paved ways, in a state of good preservation,
principally exhibiting the characteristics of the trackway, as described
in the former portion of this work, but partaking somewhat of the

• The Clatter is sometime* erroneously confounded with tlie Tors bul the In
tin- Tmlura! lock, cresting the lit]), while the Clutter is the Collection of stones
ptuniUcuoiuly together, along its declivity.

72 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

to the supply of water. The streamlet from Rayfcarrow flows, at ft
short distance in its course, towards Pain's Bridge ; and, still nearer, ft
tributary of the Teign rises immediately below Shelstone Tor. Both
these streams wind their devious way towards Chagford, to unite with
the Teign, in its southward progress, while within a few yards of .the
former, a brook takes its rise from the roots of the Cosdon, and joiaft
the Taw, in its course to the Bristol Channel in the north*

One of these tributaries of the Teign may possibly be the Wotet?
brook described in the perambulation, as falling into that river. Or it
may be the stream which we shall observe in our progress m
Endsworthy Hill, flowing in the hollow below towards Wallabrook,
but this I am unable to ascertain. Above, on Shelstone and Ends-
worthy hills, are cairns or barrows, placed, like most other sepulchral
monuments of this description, on the crest of the eminences. Nearly
due west from Endsworthy, Steeperton Tor and Hound Tor rise
above the course of the Taw, but will scarcely offer attractions enough
to draw us so far away from the interesting object which we begin to
discern, after we cross Buttern Hill and descend the slope of ScorhiH
Down, — the Sacred Circle already described.

This is by far the finest example of the rude but venerable
shrines of Druidical worship in Devonshire ; and although unnoticed
by antiquaries or topographers, may successfully dispute the palm
with many that have acquired historical celebrity, such as the circle
at Castle Bigg, near Keswick, or that at Kollricht, in Oxfordshire.
Scorhill* Circle, stands near the tor of that name, on the downs, west
of Gidleigh Park, and at a short distance above the Wallabrook, at its
confluence with the North Teign. The rugged angular appearance
of the massive stones, of which this rude hypsethral temple is con-
structed, forms a striking contrast to the Grey Wethers — the Sacred
Circle — below Sittaford Tor, which arc of a squarer, and move
truncated form. The two principal columnar masses in this granite
peristyle, stand at nearly opposite points of the circle ; the highest
rising nearly eight feet from the surface, and the other standing
upwards of six feet. The lowest are about three feet high ; several
have fallen, but twenty of these time-worn obelisks still maintain
their erect position, and circumscribe an area of about one hundred

* Qy. ? Scaur, q. d. Scaurhill.

WATERS T(i».

73

GrI in diameter. There is no appearance of any central column or
altar, and the whole of the inclosed area lias evidently been indus-
triously cleared of stones, as the surrounding common, without the
consecrated precinct, is abundantly strewed with the usual moorstone.
Such., then, is the finest and most complete specimen of Druidical
temples, or shrines, in Devonshire; and few spots could have been
chosen more in accordance with our notions of the requirements of
that singular system of worship, which, as we learn, from undoubted
contemporary testimony, was carried to such a pitch of perfection in
Britain, that the Gauls, who wished to be iuitiated into its most
recondite mysteries, repaired to this island for instruction," as to the
general university of the Druidical communion.

Om course now leads to the Wallabrook, which flows at the
foot of Scorhill Down. The means of crossing is afforded by one
of the primitive bridges already described, consisting of a single slab
of ponderous granite, fifteen feet long, nearly three wide, and twenty
inches thick. Proceeding westwards, we shall cross the swampy
flat between the Wallabrook and North Teign, and mount Wateni
Hill to examine the singular tor, which forms so conspicuous an
object on the northern extremity of the ridge. Watcrn Tor is one
of the many remarkable natural conformations of the granite rock
which will repay a more particular examination. It consists of a
series of piles, rising from the ridge of the hill, the stratification of
which presents the appearance of laminar masses, in a horizontal
position. The two piles at the N.N.E. extremity, in one part, near
die top, approach so closely, as to appear to unite, when seen from
some points of view, leaving a large oval aperture in the tor, through
which the moormen say, a man can ride on horseback. But on a
closer examination, it will be observed that there is an interval of at
least one foot wide in the narrowest part ; and in the widest, the piles
ttand about eight feet apart, leaving ample room for man and horse
to pass through. This aperture appears to have given rise to the
name of Thirlstonc, f by which this part of the tor is known. The
lesser of the two pdes, if viewed apart from the rest of the tor, is not

Dinciplinn in Britannia reperla, fll<jne inrie in Gnlliam trnn-lntn
nc qui dilip-iuifu earn rem cognoscare toIueii, pleruninuc ill-, Jiaucuili
. Ciui Btlt. Gall. lib. ri. 13.
t TlutUiiine — tttirl, dirt, of </rii/-stoue ; the porfbnHeJ none.

-,i

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

unlike the far-famed Ghees wring, on the Cornish moors, but the
courses, (to borrow a term from masonry,) are thinner. Its eleva-
tion is about twenty feet above the grassy surface of the hill. Had
rock-basins been merely natural formations, I think many would have
been found on Watern Tor, but I could not detect one example.

Following the ridge of the hill, at the southern extremity, we
shall observe a large barrow, or cairn, of the ordinary description.
Other similar cairns will be noticed on the opposite hill, near Wild
Tor, and on the higher hills above Taw Head, towards which we shall
now bend our course, bearing due west, from the cairn on Watern
Hill. Watern Tor being a well-known object, may serve the tourist
as a landmark, in his search for Cranmere Pool, which hides itself
almost as successfully, from the Dartmoor explorer, as the Nile con-
cealed bis fountains, from the antients. From the cairn at the
eastern end of Watern Hill, above mentioned, we descend to the
Wallabrook, (there only a small rivulet near its source,) and pro-
ceeding westward to White Horse Hill, which is a track of high
heathy land, undistinguished by tors, ridges, or bold features, but
probably taking its name from large patches of the granite floor of
the mountain," having been laid bare, and whitened by exposure.
In this immediate neighbourhood, quantities of turf are cut for fuel ,
and somewhat beyond the farthest point of the turf-cutters* opcrations.t
the approach to Cranmere may be made on horseback, without diffi-
culty. The tourist will find himself on the borders of the vast expanse
of boggy table land, which characterizes the remotest and moat
cessible parts of the moorland wilderness. If he has penetrated thus
far by the aid of a Dartmoor pony, he will find it prudent to take
advantage of the rude hut, which the turf-cutters have raised for
temporary shelter against " the war of elements " in this wild spot, —
to leave his horse, and will pursue his toilsome way, on foot, towards
Cranmere Pool. The way in itself* is toilsome, as you are continually
plunging into the plashy soil ; or to avoid getting knee-deep in the
bogs, arc constrained to leap from tuft to tuft, of the firmer patches
of rushy ground. Nor is there anything in the surrounding scenery
to cheer the wanderer, who requires a succession of new and attractive

CRANMERE. 75

objects, to animate him in his progress. Here the image of " a waste
and howling wilderness " is fully realized. Glance where it may,
the same slightly undulating, but unvarying surface of heath, com-
mon, and morass, presents itself to the eye. Scarcely even a granite
block on the plain, or a tor on the higher ground, " breaks the deep-
felt monotony" of the scene. Yet in this very monotony there is a
charm, for it gives birth to a feeling, that you are now in the domains
of primaeval Nature, and that this is one of the few spots where no
indications of man's presence or occupancy are to be traced. The
few sounds that, at long intervals, disturb the brooding silence of the
desert, — the plaintive cry of the curlew, or the whirring rustle of
the heath-fowl,* roused by the explorer's unexpected tread, — the
sighing wind, suddenly wrapping him perhaps in a mist-wreath, or
the feeble tinklings of the infant streamlets, — for we are now amidst
the fountains of the Dartmoor rivers, — are all characteristic of the
scene ; and wild, remote, and solitary as it is, this central morass, is
thus associated with the richest, most populous, and loveliest spots
of our fair and fertile Devon. Hence then in imagination we follow
the mountain-born streams, along their devious course to the distant
ocean, through green pastures and wavy corn fields, — by the noisy
mill and the plenteous farm, — now lingering by the fragrant-blossomed
orchard, and now sweeping by the golden furze-clad hill; now
flaahjng in sunshine along the enamelled meadows, and now darkling
beneath deep " o'erarching groves ;" at one time, mirroring the
simple cottages and grey steeple of the sequestered village, and anon
where the tidal waters have widened into a lake and deepened into
a harbour, bearing on their ample bosom, the riches of commerce
and the terrors of war, — reflecting the bristling masts of the crowded
port, — or the guarded battlements of the frowning citadel. All these
are present to the mind's eye ; and whilst by contrast with the visible
objects around, they render the desert still more waste and lonely,
they will not fail to remind us of the justice of the poet's acknow-
ledgment of the obligations of the smiling lowlands, to Dartmoor, as
u the source of half their beauty." f

* Among the heathery tracts with which this part of the moor abounds, a few pairs
of the diminished packs of heath-fowl still find shelter. The curlew and lapwing also
breed among these central swamps.

f The principal rivers which have their source in this, the north table-land of Dart-
moor, may here be enumerated ; they all rise within the boundaries of the North Quarter.

76 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Accordingly Carrington has sung the " Urn of Cranmere" in
strains of harmonious eulogy.

What time the lib'ral mountain-flood has fill'd
The Urn of Cranmere, and ihe moisten'd moor
Pours to the dales the largess of the heavens !
O let me wander then, while freshness breathes,
Along the grateful meads, and list the voice
Dartmoor— exhaustless Dartmoor— of thy streams,
Thou land of streams !

But Cranmere Fool itself is not, as it is sometimes supposed,
the source of the numerous streams which pour down from the
reservoir which Nature has established in this lofty but humid region.

The Dart, formed of the East Dart, rising as above, and with numerous nameless
tributaries flowing under Hartland Hill to Post Bridge; and of the West Daet
receiving, the Cowsick, Blackabrook, Cherry brook, &c. The two branches unite at
Dartmeet Bridge ; receive the Webb urn near Home Chase ; and flowing by Bock-
fastleigh and Totness, the Dart finally reaches the sea at Dartmouth, after a course of
about forty miles.

The Teion, which is the next river northwards, also consists of two main
branches. The North Tbign rises near Sittaford Tor, north of the Grey Wethers
Circle, takes an easterly course towards Gidleigh commons, where it receives the Wall-
abrook, as already mentioned ; and being joined near Chagford by the South Teiqv,
which also rises near the Grey Wethers, the united stream passes under Chagford*
Fingle, Clifford and Dunsford bridges amidst some of the most picturesque and sinking
scenery ; and bounding the moorland district to the eastward proceeds by a southerly
course towards Chudleigh and Teigngrace, where it receives the Bovey, and receiving
a tributary from Newton, disembogues itself into the sea at Teignmouth.

The Taw, rises as above described, near Cranmere Pool, and taking a northerly
direction, flows below Cosdon Hill and Belstone, and leaves the moor at Sticklepath.
In its northward progress it gives name to South and North Tawton ; and being joined by
the Yeo, near Eggcsford ; by the Little Dart, near Chulmleigh ; and the Mole, from
Southmolton ; flows into the Bristol Channel, in Barnstaple Bay.

The West Ockmbnt, or Okbmbnt, taking its source in Cranmere Pool, flows
below Yestor, to Okehampton, and there is joined by the East Ockment, from the
glen below Belstone and Okehampton Park. It takes a northward course, through
the centre of the county, and falls into the Torridge, near Meeth.

The Ltd rises in the hollow below Branscomb Loaf; flows south by Doe Tor;
forces its passage through the rocky chasm at Skit's Hole ; thence through the celebrated
ravines of Lydford, and beneath its romantic bridge towards Maristow, where it r ec eives
the Lew water ; and being increased by the Thrushel Brook, renders its tributary
to the Tamar, near Lift on.

The Tavy rises about a mile westward from Cranmere Pool, below Great
Tor ; flows north of Furtor and Watern Oak ; above Tavy Cleave is joined by Rattle-
brook, which comes from the north down a deep valley below Amicombe Hill ; leaves
the moor by a fine mountain gorge between Gertor (or Great Tor) and Stannon Hill ;
flows amidst a succession of picturesque scenery to Tavistock, and receiving the Walk-
ham, at Screeches Ford, passes under Denham Bridge through the richly-wooded dales
of Buckland Abbey and Maristow, to join the Tamar, at Beer Ferrers, where the noble
estuary presents all the appearance of an inland lake of singular beauty.

The Walkham, (above mentioned,) incorrectly called, in the Ordnance Map,
Wallacomb, rises in a swamp below Lints Tor, and taking a southerly course, leaves
Great Mis tor. on the left; flows under Merivale Bridge and Huck worthy Bridge, by
Walkhampton, to which probably it gives name, and thence through Horrabridge to its
junction with the Tavy.

ilUXMKllh POOL. 77

If n-iiiilc distant, eastward ; the sources of the Tavy
are under Great Kneeset, a mile to the south-west; Dart Head,
about the same distance south; and the springs of the Teign still
farther, in a south-easterly direction. The Ockment alone flows from
Cranmere Pool, which is the largest piece of water in Dartmoor or
its precincts, where we can boast of nothing like the mountain tarns
of Wiles and Cumberland. It is exceedingly difficult to find without
a guide ; and when the indefatigable tourist has reached the object
of his toilsome walk, he may perhaps scarcely think that the deep
dark-looking hollow before him, imperfectly filled with water, has
Rpud him for the trouble he has taken, to penetrate the watery fast-
nesses of the moor. Cranmere Pool is of an oblong form, and at its
brink is about 220 yards in circumference ; the bank appeared to have
been dug through on the northern side when I saw it in July, 1844.
!n this direction, the springs of the Ockmcnt find an outlet, and
flow below Lints Tor and Amicombe Hill, towards Okehampton.

Wc shall find nothing to detain us in the Cranmere morasses,
from whence these variously wandering streams take their rise, after
we have satisfied our curiosity with the inspection of the pool, and
shall therefore return to the White Horse Hill. Proceeding east-
ward, we shall notice some vestiges of antient mining operations,
above the course of the North Teign, which we shall cross by a
primitive Cyclopean bridge of three openings, in a state of high
preservation. In character, it is similar to Post Bridge already
described, but on a smaller scale. The piers are built of rough
unwrought granite masses ; and the roadway over, is rather less than
1 1 wide, formed of slabs of the same durable material. The
length of the bridge is twenty-seven feet.

'>ver the hill, through extensive turf-tics, towards Sitta-
ford Tor, we reach the circles popularly known by the name of Grey
The circumferences of these circles almost touch each

. They were originally constructed of twenty-five stones each ;

remain erect in one, and seven in the other. The largest has

been displaced and lies on the ground. It is a slab four feet nine

inches wide, less than a foot thick, and must have originally stood

out five feet high. Both circles arc one hundred and twenty feet

diameter.

ig eastward and leaving the North Teign on the left,

78 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

within two miles from Grey Wethers, we shall reach Frogymead
Hill, adjoining Fenworthy. Here is another circle of a similar
description but of smaller dimensions. Its diameter is sixty feet.
The stones of which it is formed are twenty-seven, (about three feet
apart,) still preserving their original position. The highest stands
four feet from the ground.

Leaving the South Teign, which flows near Fenworthy Farm,
and proceeding northward, about a mile and half from Frogymead,
we shall explore a cluster of remarkable relics, beginning with the
Gidleigh Bock Pillar, called, in the Ordnance Map, Longstone, to
which reference has already been made. The letters D. G. inscribed
on two of the faces, show that this primitive obelisk has been used as
a boundary stone in modern times ; but that it is a fine specimen of
the genuine Maen Hir, of antiquity, there can be no reasonable
doubt. (See plate.) It stands on the slope of a hill about a mile
S.W. of Castor Bock, and is evidently in connexion with the avenues
and circles, referred to in the former part of this work.

The avenues, although presenting the same general features with
those at Merivale, are in far less perfect preservation. If any of
these parallelithons deserve the name of Cursus, which has been
sometimes applied to them, from the supposition that they were
designed as race courses, by our British forefathers, the Longstone
Avenue certainly could not have been one. The ground is ill-adapted
for the purposes of a hippodrome ; and, on the other hand, the con-
struction and arrangements (as shown in the accompanying plate)
are all indicative of its character as a Via Sacra, ox processional road,
of Druidical worship, according to the Arkite ceremonial Beginning
on the acclivity above Longstone Maen, the avenue passes over the
hill, towards the Teign, in the direction of the great Sacred Circle,
on Scorhill Down, above described. The Teign flows at the distance
of about half a mile, and this avenue terminates in full view of
another, near at hand, which runs down the declivity towards the
river. At its southern extremity is a dilapidated cairn, the only
example observed in the immediate neighbourhood. The avenue
instead of being perfectly straight, as at Merivale and Stanlake, in
the West Quarter, is, in some parts, slightly curvilinear. This is the
only indication of an ophite feature, which I have been able to detect,
in any of the Danmonian avenues ; and it is so slightly serpentine,

r
t

t

*

9

r

r

{

1

I,OXOSTO\E AVENUE.

711

yto warrant the conclusion, that the vestiges of a Dracontium,
Serpent Temple, may here be traced. The avenue appears sud-
denly to stop ; as it seems impossible to trace any connexion with
another, whose course, if continued, would have made a right angle
with the former. From its second commencement it runs nearly
direct, and almost parallel to another, at a short distance down the
declivity eastward. Of these avenues, tic eastern line could be
traced only forty-one yards, but the western is one hundred and forty
yards in length, taking its commencement in a circle, adjoining which
is another Maen, lying on the ground, ten feet long. This avenue
runs down the hill, becoming more and more imperfect, until it
disappears, for a considerable interval. There is, however, apparently,
distinct termination in two erect stones, which stand apart, although
In the same line.
Taking Castor Rock for our landmark, we Bhall now bend our
■ps northwards, and on the western acclivity of the hill from which
that conspicuous tor rises, we shall notice an interesting specimen of
the hut circle, or ruined habitation, surrounded by an external
in closure. By the rnoormen it is well known as the Roundy Pound,
id is situated near a moorland road which forms the boundary
between the parishes of Chagford and Gidleigh. The inner circle,
hich seems to be the basement of a ruined dwelling, is forty-five
ards in circumference, Between this and the outer circle, which
5 ninety-six yards in circumference, an area is left, conveying the
dea of a courtyard surrounded by a circular Cyclopean wall of great
thickness, formed, like those in other similar examples, of granite
uses rudely piled together. The door-jambs, which remain erect
their original position, mark the entrance, and the whole presents
i appearance of the dilapidated dwelling of a primitive sheep-master

or Rock rises high above Chagford ; and standing on one

.tposts of Dartmoor, forms a conspicuous object from a large

bf North Devon, and consequently commands a varied and

prospect. From Cosdon, in the N.W., to Maredon in the

ages round a grand am phi theatre of moor and mountain.

i Beacon, Yestor, "Watcm Tor, White Horse Hill,

Icytor, and East Down, above Manadon, are all

Hidden, the Blackdown hills, and Exmoor,

PEEAMBTJLATIOH OP DARTHOOK.

bound the view in the distant horizon. Chagford "lower
town" arc seen on the slope below Middlcdown in front, \
rocky dells and sylvan wilds of Gidlcigh on one side, and tl
and groves of Whiddon Park on the other.

On Castor, is no rock-basin ; but on Middletor, a sin;
on the same common, is a very perfect specimen, almost c
form, and about six inches deep. One side of this tor over!
least ten feet, and forms a massive granite canopy, under which the
cattle frequently are seen to take shelter. Descending the hill towards
Chagford, we pass over Teigncombe Down, where many trackliriis
and other antient vestiges will be noticed. Teigncombe Common
lane, through which our course now leads, may be noticed as a
curiosity. Of all the approaches to the moor, by which turf, fil i
are conveyed to the neighbouring farms and villages, and cattle
driven, this is certainly the most extraordinary. It is difficult to con-
ceive anything bearing the name of a road, less suited to the purpose
than Teigncombe Common lane, which is nothing more than a gully
between two hedges. The steep floor is bare granite, strewn with
bowlders and stones of the same material, many of them dep
there by the force of torrents rushing from the hills. I learn that in
former years, all the turf for the supply of the immediate neighbour-
hood was brought down through this lane, on packhorses, but since
carts have come into general use, it is now only traversed by the sure-
footed moor pony, or by cattle pasturing on the commons above.

In our downward progress wc follow the course of the South
Teign, through broken ground and little verdant crofts, so charac-
teristic of the moorland borders, to Yco Bridge. Here the banks
rise into steep cliffs, and form richly-wooded dells, at the bottom
of which the stream hurries along, foaming over the rocky n
of which the channel is formed. Just above Lee Bridge, is I
junction of the North and South Teign, whose unili d
from thence towards Holy-street, through the deep and rugged g
which bounds Gidleigh Park on the south. Scarcely half a i
above Holy-street, a tor rises near the river's brink on the south si
called, by the country people, the Puckie, or Puggic Stone,'

* For Ihe means of examining: this basin, as it can only lie readied by a la
am indebted to the kindness or Mr. Nicolas Clampit, Ihe hospitable occupier o
interesting old mansion at Holy-street, one of ihe Forest [ennuis. 1 was here st

PrCKIE, OR PUGGIE STOJiF..

81

celebrated for the large rock-basin, or pan, (as it is popularly called,)
on its summit. The antiquary, trusting to local report, will be dis-
appointed when, after having succeeded in scaling the rock, he finds
that the characteristics of the genuine rock-basin, as described above,
(p. 29,) are not sufficiently clear to enable him to pronounce, that
this is not one of the examples, attributable exclusively to the
operation of natural agencies. Although of large size, it is not of
tfae usual circular form, nor do its sides display any decisive indi-
cations of artificial adaptation. But if disappointed in the main
object of his research, the explorer will be repaid for his escalade, by
the commanding view he will have gained of the wild-wood glen
down which the Teign rushes, foaming along its rock-bound channel,
in all the youthful vigour of a mountain-born torrent. And if on his
descent from the crest of the Puckie Rock , he will brave the difficulties
of the rugged glen before him, and thread his adventurous path up
i course of the North Teign, he will skirt the fine woodland
scenery of Gidleigh Park, until he emerges upon the moor, amidst
the countless granite masses which strew the steep sides of the
declivity, or have been precipitated into the channel of the river,
fhafVmg (he force of the headlong current for a moment, and forming
i succession of miniature cascades. Among these, let us pause to
remark a singular mass, lying near the right or northern bank of
Ihe river, as we ascend the stream, which, had there been no other
object of attraction, would repay the antiquary for his walk up this
and romantic glen.
This granite mass, approaching to an irregular rectangular form,
ila north side is imbedded in the channel of the Teign, and rests

•murm'ulir si

^PJttfime of an antienl quaa!", or hand-mill. It tiad be
*• Holj.firefl farm, which Mr Clampit was engaged in d
™n uf a similar description, and odh, a perfect circle,
™ 'rem tho ipol at souie considerable depth below Hie

wbicli appears originally lo have farmed half of a circle of eighteen

si. There had evidently been a hole perforated in ihe centre. About two

In diameter, and the appearance of the alone altogether, was that of part of the

■ftwtlone of an anlienl quaae, or hand-mill. It Eiad been dug out of a swampy spot

draining. There were several

c, with ft hole in the centre,

depth below Ihe surface. If not parts of tho

.- kand-niills referred lo in Holy Writ, (Is*. xlvii. 2, jER.iiiii.lt), M*ti. hit.

i.iy used among the nations of the east, and doubtless known lo the

"•Bicians, and to our aboriginal ancestors, I am at a loss to conjecture for what

:■ ) could have been intended, if they really are parts of primitive

ill '. then have we in our moorland dial net, not only numerous remains

if d*ellitjc* of the original inhabitants, but n curious specimen of their domestic

mii. The hole is rtactly similar to that described by Funbroke, an made in tho

if I he latitats, for pouring in the corn. (Ens. Anlig., 3US.) He remarks

•pecimetu are quite common, and refers to one figured in MonUaucon,

82 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

on two subjacent rocks, at an angle of about twenty-five degrees.
The outline of the stone, above the surface, measures about thirty
feet, and near the southern edge is a large and deep perforation, of a
form so regular, that, at first view, it will scarcely fail to convey the
idea of artificial preparation, and to warrant its classification among
the granitic apparatus of the Druidical ritual. But a closer inspection
will probably lead to the conclusion that natural circumstances,
within the range of possibility, might have concurred to produce this
singular conformation ; although, on the other hand, it is far from
improbable, that advantage might have been taken of some favourable
accident of nature, and, as in the case of the Logan-stone, art had
perfected the operations of nature, and this remarkable cavity had
thus been adapted to the rites of Druidism, for lustration or some
other religious ceremonial; which is the tradition connected with
this stone by the legendary chroniclers of the moor.

But its present condition, (as it has no bottom,) precludes the
possibility of its having been used as a rock-basin, except in some
extraordinary flood, when the waters of the river might rise above
the under surface of the block, and partially fill the cavity, so as to
admit of its being appropriated to the purposes of a font, or lustral
vessel. It presents the appearance of a cylindrical trough, hollowed
out in the granite ; just three feet in diameter at the top, about two
feet ten inches at bottom, and two feet eight in depth, with a con-
vexity in the middle like a barrel. The outer side, towards the
centre of the stream, is partially broken away, thus rendering the
cylinder imperfect in that direction, leaving a curved breach in the
southern face of the mass, about two feet high, and thus adding to
the singular appearance of this curious relic, whether seen from the
northern or southern bank of the river. When this breach might
have taken place, and whether in past ages the bottom and side might
not have been perfect, can, of course, be only matter of conjecture.
Under these circumstances, or on the supposition that the river might
occasionally rise, sufficiently high to fill the cavity, its being em-
ployed for lustral purposes is perfectly imaginable. To this or some
other Druidical ceremonial, it is traditionally supposed to have been
appropriated ; and while this primitive font was so used for adults,
the legends of the moor relate that a smaller one (which is supposed
to have been destroyed) was resorted to for children.

,'«'

TOLMEN, OR HOLED STONE. OO

Without therefore pronouncing that this was never " a rock"

which the Druid " scooped to hold the lustral waters," the antiquary

will not fail to have suggested to his mind another kind of aboriginal

relic, from an inspection of this curious memorial of by-gone ages.

'rom its present aspect, he will probably conclude that it should

rather be pronounced a Tolmen, and if it really belong to this class

of relics, the interest with which we shall regard it, will be much

creased, as it is the only known specimen in Devonshire. It has

itherto escaped the notice of topographers and antiquaries, and while

uilech, Logan-stone, Grimspound, &c, are popularly known,

id have been described in county histories and topographical and

itiquarian works, this singular relic, unique in its character, and

obscure in its destination, is known only to the oral topographers of

c moor.

The Tolmen, or Holed Stone, as the word, in Cornish, implies,
found in Cornwall, in Ireland, and, according to Fosbrokc, in the
Bast Indies. This learned antiquary describes the tolmen as a per-
orated stone for drawing children through, and adults also; and adds
two brass pins wero carefully laid across each other on the top
edge of this stone for oracular purposes."* With reference to the
■eat Tolmen, at Constantine, near Penryn, Gilbert, in his History of
Cornwall, observes that it seems probable that the aperture was an
instrument of superstitious "juggle, and applied to the purposes of
lurilication or penance, or for the removal of bodily disorders. "t
the other hand, regards the tolmen as a rock idol. " There
kind of stone deity, which has never been taken notice of
other author that I have heard of; its common name, in
and Scilly, is Tolmen, or the Hole of Stone." Besides the
celebrated specimen at Constantine, he mentions one on St. Mary's
iland, (Scilly,) at the Salakee Downs, and the other on the little isle
Northwithce. All these, however, are huge masses resting upon
natural rocks below, and leaving apertures beneath, but near' Lanyon,
one of the same description as our Teign tolmen, (as I woidd
enturc to designate it,) though incomparably less curious. It is
escribed by Gilbert, as one of " three erect stones, on a triangular

84 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

plane." The tolmen " is thin, flat, and fixed in the ground on its
edge ; it has a hole in the middle near two feet in diameter, from
whence it is called, Men-an-tol, that is, the holed stone." This
evidently however, is artificially set up, whereas, our Men-an-tol in
the Teign, seems to have been placed in the bed of the river by
natural agency.

Mr. Harcourt unhesitatingly connects the tolmen with some
recondite mysteries of Arkite worship, since, as he finds them in con-
nexion with other Arkite monuments on Brimham Moor, near Pately
Bridge, Yorkshire, he concludes they can leave no doubt of the reli-
gious system to which they belonged. The description given of these
monuments, by a writer in the Archsologia, would lead them generally
to be classed as Druidical relics, strictly speaking, even if it be granted
that Druidism is a more recent form of Arkite superstition. This
account is quoted by Mr. Harcourt, and may be adduced in proof of
the opinion above advanced, — that the holed stone of the Teign is a
Druidical monument of the tolmen class. Among other relics, three
tolmens are described. "One of them with an aperture through
which a man might pass, and a rock-basin at each entrance; in
another, the passage was three feet and a half across, and contained a
rock-basin three feet in diameter. The excavation in the third, is
little more than three feet square at the entrance, and runs in a straight
direction no more than six feet ; but on the right hand side, a round
hole, two feet only in diameter, is perforated quite through the rock
to the length of sixteen feet. And from this form, it has obtained the
name of the great cannon. A road has been made over a bed of rock
on purpose to reach it, and the whole rock is ninety-six feet in
circumference. Lastly he describes an assemblage of rocks which
seem to have been a chosen spot for religious ceremonies : " here," says
he, " we find rock idols, altars, circular holes, evidently cut in the sides
of rocks, and passages between, for some sacred mysterious purpose."*

The accompanying circumstances of the tolmen in the Teign are
strikingly similar. The sacred circle stands at a short distance on
Scorhill Down. On Middletor, near Castor Rock, on the other side
of the Teign, is a fine rock-basin. Not far south-west is placed the
Longstone Pillar, already described, in immediate connexion with the

* Doct. Deluge, vol. ii., p. 509.

CHAGFORD.

85

cursus or parallclithons, on the slope of the hill below Batworthy.
Here then, as at Brimham Moor, wc find an assemblage of relics,
" which seems to indicate a chosen spot for religious ceremonies ;** and
here, as in the Yorkshire example, we find the tolmen in immediate
connexion with other monuments of primitive character and incontes-
table antiquity. Should the tourist, instead of proceeding up the
glen from Holy-street, visit the tolmen, from Longstone and the
avenues, he will find it, by following the course of the Teigu down-
wards, at forty yards from the spot where the Wallabrook falls into
that river, immediately opposite a new-take wall, which separates
Batworthy from the moor, and which terminates on the southern bank,
in front of the holed part of the stone.

I have remarked that the assemblage of relics at this spot seems
to designate it as a place dedicated, in past ages, to the celebration
of religious ceremonies, the general nature of which it is not difficult
to conjecture, although it may not be easy to assign to the different
monuments the particular ceremonies for which they were originally
designed. But the observation may he justly extended to a much
wider scope, than the immediate precincts of the Teign tolmen. The
whole neighbourhood is rich in Druidical and aboriginal relics, and
if the antiquary wished to establish himself at a point where, as from
a centre, he could, within a moderate circumference, have the means
of inspecling a specimen of the several monuments of Danmonian
antiquity, he could fix on no place more advantageously situated for
the accomplishment of his wishes, than the pleasant little town of
Chagford, where he will find homely but comfortable accommodation
at a respectable inn, and be placed within reach of those various
objects of antiquarian interest and picturesque beauty, with which
liourhood abounds.

Chagford itself, as an autient stannary and market-town, built on
a pleasing acclivity, backed by the lofty eminence of Middledown
with its jagged crest, — a prominent outpost of the granite range, —
with the moor Btr etching away indefinitely in the distance, and the
diversified vale of the Teign, directly in front, is well worthy of a visit.
It presents some of the most interesting characteristics of our moor-
land border-towns. There is an air of picturesque informality in its
general appearance. Many of the houses are of moorstone — grey,
antient-looking, substantial ; some with projecting porches and parvisc-

BO

PERAMBULATION OP DARTMOOR.

room over, and granite-mullion'd windows, — like the hostelry aire:
commemorated, — while a perennial stream, fresh from the
bouring hills, and clear as that which flowed from the Blandui
fount, speeds vivaciously along the principal street, through a <
moorstone channel. The church, substantially built of native granite,
with its sturdy steeple of the same durable material, — embattled
porch with granite -groined vault, springing from low columns,
with Norm an -looking capitals, — appropriately forms the central and
principal object, among the simple buildings of this quiet, retired
border town. The quaint little market-place, is in perfect keeping
with the accompanying features of the scene. Standing apart from
any great thoroughfare, the echoes of the Chagford hills are never
awakened by the "twanging horn," nor its streets roused by the
rattle of the stage-coach or royal mail. At the door of the Three
Crowns, a postchaise is still, in the middle of the nineteenth century,
enough of a phenomenon, to collect a group of rustic gazers. The
public conveyance which maintains a periodical intercourse with
Exeter, has not yet been dignified with the elegant euphuism of
Omnibus. The carriage road from More ton to Okehampton and the
north of Devon, passes over Eushford Bridge, about a mile from the
town; but the roads and lanes leading to the adjacent parishes,
hamlets, farms, and commons, are, for the most part, so steep and
rugged, as to be ill-adapted for any vehicles, where springs form an
integral requisite in the construction. Accordingly the methods of
conveyance and transit, partake of the olden times, and are charac-
teristic alike of the country and the inhabitants. Breasting a formi-
dable ascent on the south, the road to Ashburton is much better
adapted to the packhorse of the last century, than to the carts or
waggons of the present day; while the upland track, — which the
western traveller, to his no small wonder, is admonished, by a timely
finger-post, to follow, as the road to Tavistock, — scales a precipitous
hill, and would have been far more suited to the wary paces of the
palfrey of the abbot of that antient borough, in by-gone days, than
tn the poles and springs of the Broughams and Britschkas of modern,
times. Instead of the convenient market-car of the lowlands, wo
therefore observe, without surprise, that panniers maintain the
ascendancy with the rustic dames of the neighbourhood; and the
phenomenon of a double Itorse, with saddle and pad, or even the

antiquarian curiosity of a pillion, may still be met with in the rugged
and narrow by-ways of a district, where rural manners and old-world
customs still linger, and find an asylum, which modern fashions ren-
der every day more precarious and untenable. Among the patriarchs
of the hills, the straight-breasted blue coat, (the relic and memorial
of the "prentice suit, or the wedding garments,) made before the revo-
lutionary innovation of lappels had been imported from republican
France, may still be seen witli (but a much rarer occurrence) the
shoe fastened with buckle and strap, a memorial of the days of " then-
hot youth, when George the Third was king." In the market and at
church, the observant eye will trace also, among the elder women,
the vestiges of the fashions of their youth, in the carefully preserved
red cloak, with its graceful and convenient hood, — the respectable
looking, matronly silk bonnet, edged with black lace, and set off by
the becoming mob cap of past generations. On a rainy day, the
costume of such a matron will be characteristically completed by the
umbrella, with which she protects her head-gear from the impending
shower. The faded green cotton material ; the stout stick, with a few
faint vestiges of original paint, the ring at the top ; the substantial
whalebone ribs, enough to furnish forth a dozen of the flimsy pro-
ductions of modern bazaars ; the absence of crook and ferule, (and
every similar contrivance to make the umbrella perform the additional
duty of a walking-stick ;) all characterise this as a specimen of original
construction, and point to a time when the appearance of this useful
invention, at a Devonshire church, would cause a general sensation in
the congregation, and furnish more than a nine days' wonder to the
whole neighbourhood.

Many agricultural implements, which have quite disappeared in the
more level districts, will stdl be found in the homesteads of the hilly
country. In such a place as Chagford, the cooper, or rough car-
penter, will still find a demand for the packsaddle, with its accom-
panying furniture of crooks, crubs, or dung-pots. Before the general
introduction of carts, these rough and ready contrivances were found
of great utility, in the various operations of husbandry, and still
prove exceedingly convenient in situations almost, or altogether,
inaccessible to wheel carriages. The long crooks are used for the
carriage of corn, in sheaf, from the harvest field to the mowstead or
burn, — for the removal of furze, browse, faggot-wood, and other light

materials. The writer of one of the happiest effusions of the h
muse, with fidelity to nature, equal to Cowper or Crabbe, has intro-
duced the figure of a Devonshire packhorsc, bending under tlip
" swagging load " of the high-piled croo/is, as an emblem of Care,
toiling along the narrow and rugged path of life * The force and
point of the imagery must be lost, to those who have never seen
(and as in an instance which came under my own knowledge, never
heard of) this unique specimen of provincial agricultural machinery-
The crooks are formed of two poles, about ten feet long, bent, when

■ Care pushes by them, o'erladen ttith crooki. — The Devonshirb Line, by the late
Rer. John Marriott, same time Vicar of Broadcast, Devon. While I cud readily imagine
that the identical lane which furnished the excellent author wilh his original sketch, may
be found in the neighbourhood of Broailcliat, and while I could fancy that one bowery
lane, in particular, leading towards Pollimorc, might have eat for the picture, yet there aie
•o many of our moorland b order-] an ea which exhibit an eiact family likenes*. that every
feature of a scene so faithfully depicted and bo felicitously applied, may be traced, in
numerous instances, especially in the environs of Chagford, Uoreton, Ashburton, Flymp-
ton, &c. The insertion of the entire piece, — bo happily illustrative of the peculiar feature*
of Devonshire scenerv,— and which is much less extensively known than its merits
deserve, will, I am satisfied, require no apology.

In a Devonshire lane, as I trotted along

T'other day, much in want of a subject for song,

Thinks I to myself, 1 have hit on a strain,

Sure marriage is much like a Devonshire lane.

In the first place 'lis long, and when once you are in it.

It holds you as fast, as a cage does a linnet ;

Forhowe'er rough and dirty, the road may be found,

Drive forward you must, there is no turning round.

But though 'tis so long, it is not very wide.

For two are the most that together can ride;

And e'en then, 'lis a chance, but they gel in a pother,

And jostle and cross and run foul of each other.

Oft Poverty greets llir™ with mendicant looks.

And Care pushes by them, o'erladen with crooks ;

And Strife's graiing wheels try between them to pass,

And Stubbornness blacks up the way on her ass.

Then the banks are so high, to the left hand and right,

That they shut up the beauties around them from sight :

And hence you'll allow 'tis an inference plain.

That marriage is just like a Devonshire lane.

But thinks I loo, these banks, within which we are pent.

With bud, blossom, and berry, are richly besprent ;

And the conjugal fence, which foilids us to roam,

Looks lovely, when deck'd with the comforts of home.

In the rock's gloomy crevice, the iriglit holly grows;

The ivy waves fresh o'er the withering rose,

And the evergreen love of a virtuous wife,

Sooths the roughness of cure, — cheers tie winter cf life.

Then long be the journey, and narrow the way,

I'll rejoice that I've seldum a turnpike to pay;

And whate'er others say, he the last to compliiin,

Though marriage is just like a Devonshire lane.

ANTIENT AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 89

green, into the required curve, and when dried in that shape, axe
connected by horizontal bars. A pair of crooks, thus completed, is
■long over the packsaddlc, — one, " swinging on each side, to make
the balance true." The short crooks, or cruhs, are slung in a similar
These are of stouter fabric, and angular shape, and are used
for carrying logs of wood, and other heavy materials. The dungpots,
the name implies, were also much in use, in past times, for the
removal of dung and other manure from the farm yard to the fallows
or ploughlands. The slide, or sledge, may also still occasionally be
the hay or cornfields, sometimes without, and in other cases
mounted on, low wheels, rudely but substantially formed of thick
plank, such as might have brought the antient Roman's harvest-load
to the barn, some twenty centuries ago*

The primitive contrivance for hanging the gates of the moorland
crofts and commons, may also be seen in this neighbourhood. No
iron hinge of any kind, nor gate-post is employed. An oblong moor-
stone block, in which a socket is drilled, is built into the wall, from
which it projects sufficiently to receive the back stanchion of the
gate, while a corresponding socket is sunk in a similar stone fixed in
the ground below, unless a natural rock should be found in situ,
tuitable for the purpose, which is frequently the case. The gate, thus
Mcured, swings freely, swivel- like, in these sockets ; and thus, from
materials on the spot, without the assistance of iron, a simple, durable,
»nd efficient hinge is formed by the rural engineer.

The flail, f with its monotonous strokes, still resounds from the
barn-floors of all our smaller farms, where economy or attachment to
old usages, has prevented the introduction of the modern threshing-
machine. Still more rarely is the old method of winnowing resorted
10 ; hut in a few instances the Windatoto may yet be seen, where the
process is accomplished by simple manual labour, — the grain being
i ! 'o the action of the wind, on some elevated spot, and passed
though sieves, shaken by the hand, until " clean provender" is

' Tudaque Eleusins mntiis ToWentia plaustru.— Virg. Gtorg. 1. 163. These loo
utljiiu anno into r supposes lo have hail wheels without apoits, Plnustra quorum roll
■ radiate, ted

lyuipanorum, siiliilia tabulis.

t In Deronahire, the band Lhresbing-inslrument is not known by itie Dame of flail.

Wnocutar retains [he old Snxon word Tlirrscol, by metal ticsii Tnreahel, and. as in

■.spiraio in changed into d, makes it drabel ; so thor/ie, a Tillage,

Dutch. In the Lancashire dialect they hare the same word.

1 ***it, (identical with

.■M hMMd "i MU.

do

PERAMBULATION OF UAKTMOOR.

produced, like that which was " winnowed with the shovel and with
the fan"* on the hills of Judaia of old. In this primitive process, the
memory of the method of separating the grain from the chaff, so
common in our "county, forty years ago, (before the introduction of the
winDowing machine,) is still preserved.

When we construct our roads of iron, it may be justly said that
we live in an iron age. Ploughs, harrows, and drags, wholly of iron,
have superseded the timber frame-work of those implements, to a
great extent ; but the old wooden plough may yet be seen on some
farms, little if at all changed in its material parts from that which the
Romans might have taught our rude forefathers to use, when they
subjected the western angle of the island to then sway, and induced
them to become husbandmen, even if they had not been previously
brought to add this useful occupation to their more antient one of
shepherds and herdsmen. The antiquary, versed in classic lore, will
observe with interest, the striking similarity between Virgil's descrip-
tion of the plough, in the reign of Augustus, and that which may still
be seen in Devonshire, after a lapse of eighteen centuries.

Continrjo in sylvis magna vi flexa domatur
In luirim d enrvi formura accipit uirmts aralri.
Hinc a stirpc pedes temo protentus in octo,
Binai aures, duplici apiantur dentalin dorso.
Geditur et tills ante jugo levis, altnque fagns,
Stivaque, qafe curnis a tergu torqueat imos.

Via. Georg. lib.

, 174.

The hurts, or beam, (though not always made of elm,) has still a
slight curvature. The ear of the ploughshare, by which the sod is
turned off from the furrow, — the stita, handle (or haul, vernacular)
by which the plough is guided, — aud the yoke, (where oxen are
employed, as is still often the case in Devonshire,] formed of the light
alder, instead of the lime, or linden tree, which is not so common

• Is. Xxiii. 21. Our winnowine sievo answers lo the shovel here mentioned, nnd w
the fan, (Matt. iii. I'i) whieh, as Slmw (qnoled by Bliiuer, — Oriental Custamt. to], ir.,
ji. 'i'Jb) observes, is loo imiibersomi: n machine lo be thought <A\ for ii is represented is
Ming carried in the hand, (whose fnn is in his hand.) Binder further remarks, thil
"the word TTTVoy, from irri'" to ijii'l, spit out, inoimriy signifies a shovel, whence corn
is thrown ot suit out as it were, against the wind, lo separate it from the chaff. That
this is the true sense of the word, and not a fan, or van, is evident from Homer., It. jdiL I.
583, where -arvov is used in the same sense

ANTIENT AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 91

with us, as in Italy, — all exhibit a remarkable accordance with Virgil's
description, and prove the tenacity with which antient usages maintain
their ground among the sons of the soil. The goad, still in use for
guiding, and urging on a yoke of oxen, carries us back even to more
remote periods still, although the weapon which Shamgar * wielded
with such deadly effect against the Philistines, must have been of a
more formidable description than those used by our ploughboys, to
incite the slow but patient ox to his useful toil. It would appear,
from observations made by travellers in the east, that the antient
ox-goad combined in one instrument, the goad properly so called,
used by the ploughboy in driving the oxen, and the implement known
to our husbandmen, as the paddle shovel, for removing the mould
which clogs the ploughshare and coulter. The observations of one of
our older travellers, so satisfactorily illustrate the passage above cited
from Holy "Writ, and so directly connect our old-fashioned husbandry
with the practice of eastern nations, tenaciously perpetuated from the
earliest ages, as to become peculiarly interesting. " It is observable,"
says Mr. Maundrell, " that in ploughing, they use goads f of an extra-
ordinary size ; upon measuring of several, I found them about eight
feet long, and at the bigger end, six inches in circumference. They
Were armed at the lesser end, with a sharp prickle for driving the
oxen, and at the other end with a small spade, or paddle of iron,
•trong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that encum-
bers it in working. May we not from hence conjecture, that it was
with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made that prodigious
slaughter related of him ? I am confident that whoever should see
one of these instruments, would judge it to be a weapon not less fit,
perhaps fitter, than a sword, for such an execution. Goads of this
sort, I saw always used, hereabouts, and also in Syria; and the

* JuDOB8iii. 21.

f The goads used by our ploughboys are generally about the same length, with a
similar prickle fixed in the smaller end of the pole or stick, which, however, is of slighter
make, being used only for driving the oxen, while the paddle-shovel stick, (and it is to
be noticed that Maundrell uses our provincial term,) would just correspond in size with
that which our traveller noticed as still used in the country of the heroic Hebrew, who,
like another Tell, roused perhaps by some crowning act of wanton outrage, from bis
peaceful occupation, to withstand " the fury of the oppressor," found an extemporaneous
and efficient weapon (furor arma miniatrat) in that implement, which, probably, the
jealous policy of the Philistines might allow the oppressed Israelites to sharpen, as in the
disastrous reign of Saul, <• when they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and
for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.'* (1 Sam. xiii. 21.)

92 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

reason is, because the same single person both drives the oxen, and
also holds, and manages the plough, which makes it necessary to use
such a goad as is above described, to avoid the incumbrance of two
instruments."

" Not rural sights alone, but rural sounds," as the poet of the
country so soothly sings, " delight" those, whose minds are not so
absorbed by one particular pursuit as to render them insensible to
every other object of interest and gratification. The plaintive strain,
or peculiar kind of recitative, which the ploughboy chants to his
team, as he directs or urges them onwards, is both " musical and
melancholy;" especially when it comes wafted up the hill by the
fitful winds of autumn, or the gusty breezes of spring. It is probably
a custom of considerable antiquity, and is singularly in keeping with
the slow and measured pace and pensive looks of the oxen, — their
necks bent earthward by the yoke, — but patient of their toilsome
march through the furrows, all the livelong day. A team of four or
six fine oxen, forms one of the most pleasing accidents of an agri-
cultural landscape ; but one looks with almost Levitical repugnance
at the ill-assorted combinations which sometimes present themselves,
by the harnessing of bullocks in the same team with the horse or
the ass*

While, in the midst of scenes and sounds like these, the vale*
tudinarian may successfully " woo Hygeia on the mountain's brow,"—
the artist may richly replenish his sketch-book, — the botanist store
his herbarium with specimens of moorland Flora f, — and the
geologist fortify his theories of volcanic protrusion, or aqueous
deposits, from phenomena, presented in the abrupt hills and deeply*
scoop'd valleys around; — the antiquary, with whose pursuits this
work is more immediately concerned, will find himself most advan-
tageously stationed at Chagford, for visiting such monumental relics
as the columnar circle, on Scorhill Down, — the tolmen, — the stone
avenues, with the Longstone Maen, — the Round Pound, near Castor
Rock, — hut circles, on Teigncombe Down, — the rock-basins, on
Middletor, and the Puckie Stone, as well as those near Sandypark, —

• Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. (Deut. xxii. 10.)
f The bright green and glomuliferous parmelia, and the resupinate nephroma, will
be found on the rocks and trees in the immediate neighbourhood. (See Appendix, No. iil)

ihe Drewsteignton cromlech, — the Logan Stone, in the Teign, near
Whiddon Park, — Cranbrook Castle, on the heights immediately
above, and Prestonbury, already described, near Fingle Bridge. All
these, and many more- antiquarian objects of minor importance, lie
within a circle, of which Chagford is the centre, with a radius of not
2 than three miles, so that a pedestrian may, without difficulty,
reach them all, " albeit unus'd," it may be, to moorland explorations.
But many a zealous investigator would not find it a task too arduous,
to extend his perambulations (even without the aid of a moor-pony
or vehicle) from hence to the Grey Wethers circle, to the circle in
Fenworthy new-take, to the pounds on Shelstonc hill (p. 71) to
Cnnrnere Pool, or even to the top of Cosdon. Nor let the explorer
of our upland wilds be deterred from the excursions thus indicated,
by calculating his powers of locomotion from the results of his
pedestrian efforts along a muddy lane or a dusty highway. With the
springy turf at his feet, and with the mountain air above and around
Kim, he will find his step acquiring unwonted elasticity and vigour,
and will be enabled to accomplish, without undue fatigue, over the
free and breezy moorlands, a distance which would present a toilsome,
if not an impracticable task, in the beaten and confined thoroughfares
below. We shall, however, now proceed to visit, in succession, those
objects which have not already been noticed ; or which, from their
importance, demand a more detailed account than has been given in
the general description.

Among these, the Drcwhteignton cromlech holds a pre-eminent
place. It has been noticed above, (p. S3,) that the character and
position of the abacus may, probably, be traced in the name of the
adjoining farm. But without relying too much on the controverted
evidence of etymology, the name of the parish is much more impor-
tant, since it has been confidently appealed to, as intimately connected
with, and directly relating to, the aboriginal relics with which the
environs abound. Polwhele's enthusiasm has led him to regard these
relics, viewed in connexion with the name, and with local circum-
stances, as pointing to the very metropolis of Druidism in the west, —
i of the regal, or archdruidical court. That such courts
wist«d in countries where the Druidical religion prevailed, there can
W no doubt in the minds of those who are acquainted with Cscsar's

94 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

clear and circumstantial account of the nature and extent of the
authority exercised by that powerful priesthood in Gaul.* Nor can
we hesitate in coming to the conclusion, that similar authority was
wielded in Britain, whence, as it has been already observed, the
Gauls derived their knowledge of the Druidical system. But whilst
the existence of such courts, in Britain, will hardly be disputed, the
precise spots where they may have been held must ever remain a
subject of pure conjecture. Monumental relics are the only guides
in the absence of historic testimony. Presumption, therefore, is in
favour of a spot where an unusual congeries of Druidical relics still
exists, — and such a spot is certainly found in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the Drewsteignton cromlech, — where the conditions
requisite to make out a case f prima facie J are probably less equi-
vocal than in Anglesea, where Rowland and others have traced
vestiges of the seat of an Archdruid. Our Devonshire cromlech is
incomparably more striking and curious than that at Flas Newydd,
on the Menai Strait ; nor is that accompanied by such an assemblage
of Druidical relics, as enriches the neighbourhood of Drewsteignton.
"With all due allowance for local predilection, and for the sanguine
conclusions of an antiquary, whose wish is confessedly often €t father
to his thought," the following observations of Polwhele, with
reference to this point, may not be deemed altogether unworthy of
consideration. " If we confine ourselves within the limits of Devon
and Cornwall, and fix an archidruidical seat in the west, I should
imagine that Drewsteignton would be the most eligible spot. The
very name of Drewsteignton instantly determines its original appro-
priation to the Druids. And that this ' town of the Druids, upon the
river Teignj was the favourite resort of the Druids, is evident, from
a great variety of Druidical remains in the neighbourhood of the
town. * * * The only remaining cromlech in Devonshire, t marks

• Writing of the order of men called Druids, Caesar shows that their authority
extended to the most important questions of litigation, ecclesiastical and secular. If any
recusant opposed their decision, the ghostly terrors of excommunication were resorted
to, for the purpose of enforcing the sentence of these absolute judges ; — nor were the
decrees which were issued from the solemn groves of the central Carnutes, less formidable
than the interdicts which, in after ages, were fulminated from the Vatican. " Nam fere de
omnibus controvcrsus, publicis privatisque constituunt ; et si quod est admissum facinus ;
si ciede facta ; si de heraditate, si de hnibus controversia est, idem decernunt ; praemia
psenasque constituunt." Cesar, Bell. Gall., lib. vi. 13.

t The only cromlech known to Mr. Polwhele, as existing in Devonshire.

DREWSTEIBXTON CROMLECH.

95

this spot as more peculiarly the seat of the Druids. And the
Archdruid, perhaps, could not have chosen a more convenient place
for his annual assembly."

After controverting the opinion entertained by West cote, Risdon,
and Prince, that the prefix of Drew is derived from Drogo, who is
.said to have held lands in the parish, in the reigns of Henry II. and
Richard I., Chappie, to whose treatise on the cromlech, reference has
been made in the former part of this work, proceeds to trace the
origin of the name to the occupancy of the Druids, more than a
thousand years before. " As we find it called Tet/n' Dm, or Dru-et —
Teignfon, in other antient records, it seems to me most probable it
was thus distinguished as having been, before the Roman conquest,
the residence of a principal Druid. For that some considerable one
governed here, and had great numbers under his command, may
fairly be inferred, from this stupendous monument of their labour
and skill. • * • And that its present name was formed from Druid's
Teignton, has been the opinion of most persons, who have seen its
cromlech, and judged it to be a Druidical structure, though uncertain
for what purposes it was erected. Hence also Drcwston,* the name
of a farm there, had probably its origin, having been perhaps once
the seat of some Druid or Druids, and as such called by the Saxons
Dreos-tun, from some such name of the like signification given it by
the Britons. And the like may be observed of another Drewston,
situate in the adjoining parish of Chagford, but on the other side
of the Teign." f

Should the tourist regard these etymological and antiquarian
speculations as of any validity, they will increase the interest with
which he will proceed to visit the cromlech and its associated relics.
At all events, the veriest sceptic will not feel prepared to pronounce
that the Druids never had a judicial station, or educational college, at
this particular spot, Who can affirm that tlus was not the place, or
of the places, to which these Gauls resorted, whose anxiety for a
perfect initiation into the mysteries of Druidical lore, would
lead them to Britain, to imbibe draughts of instruction at the

• DrpwMtictiton is also frequently nbbreTittled to Drewslone by Ihe country people.
It ii »lio sometimes i-alld Teignton, without Iho prefix.

t Chappie'* Description and Exegesis of Ihe Drcwstcignton Cromlech, p. 30.

fountain-head ? • Without however venturing to fix the precise spot,
it is scarcely within the bounds of probability that no such establish-
ment existed in or about Dartmoor, where so many Druidical
vestiges abound ; and if this be granted, I know no situation where,
from existing circumstances, it might be sought for with greater
promise of success, than in the neighbourhood of the Drewsteiguton
cromlech, unless the neighbourhood of Wistman's Wood might dispute
the claim, and challenge for itself the honours of the gorseddau and
Druidical college. With what additional interest will the explorer
look down from the Puekie Stone upon the oaken groves which over-
shadow the channel of the Teign, when he thinks that in the same spot,
and beneath former generations of similar oaks, the Druid might have
celebrated his dark and blood-stained rites, or instructed those who,
perhaps, from the remotest parts of Gaul, had repaired hither, to
consult the hierophants of their mystic creed ! And as he threads
his way down the romantic glen, towards Holy -street, a deeper horror
will envelope those venerable woods. Association will not fail to
enhance the interest of the scene, rich as it is in intrinsic charm*.
And few spots can boast natural features more striking and lovely, while
the works of man, where they interpose, are so harmonious in their
character, as to be in perfect keeping with the works of nature. The
mill, at Holy-street, — the substantial dwelling-house hard by, with
high-pitched roof and gables, lnullioned windows and low-brow'd
doorways, all of enduring moorstone, — its quaint terraced-garden, trim
with ever-green hedges, — its enclosed paved court, with a crystal
streamlet running through, to join the river below, — all suggestive
of old hereditary occupancy and rural quiet, — and all felicitously
harmonizing with the sequestered and sylvan character of the sur-
rounding scenery.

If the opinion of some antiquaries is to be credited, in passing from
Holy-street homestead, along the margin of the Teign, we are tread-
ing the Via Sacra of the Druids, which, it is conjectured, might have
led from hence to the cromlech itself, about two miles distant. The
name of Holy -street is too significant to be lightly passed over ; and
whatever may be said of many other etymological speculations, I
believe it is generally held as an established canon in archaeology,

■ CxMJt, Btll. Call., lib. vi. 13.

HOLY-STHLKT. <)|

that the word street, applied to roads in different parts of the country,
may he regarded as conclusive evidence of the existence of some
antient paved highway in or near the spot. Such was probably the
rood passing along this romantic woodland glen, where it expands into
a vale at the foot of the acclivity on which the town of Chagford is
built. Whether the Holy-street lane is to be pronounced the Via
Sacra, or processional road of the Druids, leading (it may be) from
the Cromlech to the Tobncn and Sacred Circle, or not, — it would seem
impossible to emerge from the narrow lane, (by which we came down
from Teigncombe Common, to the south Teign and the Puckie Stone,
p. 80,) as it winds by Holy-street house, and pass into the sylvan glado
which then opens before you, without feeling that few spots more likely
to have been dedicated to the purposes of the Druidical consecrated
grove, could be found in the whole island. Even now, the venerable
oaks, towering aloft from the grassy floor, strewn with moss-grown
rocks, and spreading a deep, religious shade around, can scarcely &il
to suggest thoughts of our barbarian forefathers, congregated at the
summons of the mighty priesthood, in such a scene as this, " inflaming
themselves with idols, among the oaks," (Is. lvii. 5). But when, in
addition to the oaken grove, on the level, — the moss-covered rocks,
and the darkly flowing river, — -al! the surrounding eminences rose
thickly garni turcd with primaeval woods, it seems morally certain,
toene so characteristic and appropriate, could not have been
overlooked by the Druids, in a district where, as we have already
■MO« such unequivocal traces of their ritual still remain.

We will now proceed along the valley towards Chagford
Bridge, since, if there is attention to be given to the etymological
inferences drawn from the name of Holy-street, the Via Sacra could
tcarccly have taken any other direction, than that indicated by the
coarse of the river. But before taking a final leave of Holy-street,
let me remind those whose predilections may lead them to regard
these antiquarian speculations with the indifference, if not with the
scornful scepticism, of an Ochiltree, that the features of natural
loveliness in this dale, are so manifold and striking, that they will not
fail to repay the "pilgrims of beauty" for a visit to this sylvan
shrine, on the verge of the moorlands, especially if they should make
their pilgrimage after the early frosts have tinged the oaken grove
with the varied hues of autumn. Nor will the botanist, in his

return from lichen-hunting among the rocks on Teigncombe Coi
or the woods in Gidleigh Park, fail to observe, in the clear and rapid
niill-leat, by the road side, the luxuriant water plants, mantling the
stones deep in the stream, — green as an emerald, and thick and wavy
as the tresses of Sabrina's hair, when evoked from her " coral paven
bed," by the potent spell of the Miltonian muse.

Having reached Chagford Bridge, we shall find our way along a
pathway, on the north bank of the Teign, until we reach Rushlbrd
Bridge, where the road from Moreton to Okehampton crosses the
river. Turning to the left, at Rushford Barton, we mount the woody
ridge, which rises at the back of Sandypark. On the summit we
shall find a number of tors and bowlders scattered along a strip of
verdant turf, which seems to have given rise to the name of the
Bowling-green, by which it is (or was) known among the neigh-
bouring peasantry, while the convivial designation of "the punch
bowl" was given to a rock-basin on one of the masses which crest the
hill. Descending on the other side, we shall soon regain the road,
and after proceeding northwards about a mile, shall reach the crom-
lech, situated in a small level field adjoining the road which here
proceeds eastward to Drcwstcignton church-town; from which the
cromlech is distant about a mile and a quarter, and from whence it
can be most conveniently approached by visitors from the east and
north. Chappie describes its situation as " nearly in the middle of
the county of Devon, being within two miles and a half of the centre
of its circumscribing circle. From which circumstance, by-the-bye,"
continues this author, " we might infer the fitness of the place for a
Druidical assize, supposing (what however we can, at this distance
of time, have no certainty of) that the present limits of this county
were then also, nearly, the boundaries of a distinct province of
Druidical government, in this western part of Britain."*

This venerable monument is popularly known by the name of
the Spinsters' Rock ; the origin of which appellation is thus accounted
for, by the same writer who learnt it as the tradition of the neigh-
bourhood. " The common saying is, that it was erected by three
spinsters one morning before their breakfast. These spinsters (though
the appellation among lawyers is peculiar to maiden women, but

• CiurrLi's DeKription and Bxtguit of the Drtmteigntm Cromlech, p. 30.

SPINSTERS ROCK.

98

seems to be originally derived from the common employment of
young girls in former ages) the inhabitants represent, as having been
not only spinsters in the former sense, but also spinners by occu-
For, according to their account, they did it after finishing
their usual work, and going home with their pad, as the phrase here is,
that is carrying home their pad of yarn to the yarn-jobber, to be paid
for spinning it. And on their return, observing such heavy materials
unapplied to any use, and being strong wenches, (giantesses we may
presume, such as Gulliver's Glumdalclitch, or the Blouzes of Pata-
gonia,) as an evidence of their strength and industry, and to shame
the men who, either from weakness or laziness, had desisted from the
attempt, they jointly undertook this task, and raised the unwieldy
stones to the height and position in which they still remain. This is
the tale, which they say has been handed down to them from gene-
ration to generation."* Nor is the memory of this legendary fable
extinct at the present day. Whilst however Mr. Chappie records
the tradition, he by no means acquiesces in the derivation of the
lerra, but appends a conjecture of his own, " taking it for granted that
the original name of this cromlech was expressive of the use for
which it was designed. * * * Why then might not the astronomical
Druids give it some Celtic appellation significant of that use ; such
as lie Yspiennwr rhotigca, (in the British dialect of the Celtic,) the
place of the open or hollow observatory ? or, possibly, Yspienddgn
Ser rongca — the open star-gazing place."

Without venturing to pronounce between the rival claims of
these " astronomical Druids" and the stalwart spinsters of traditionary
fame, it may be worth while to look a little further into the bearings
of the legend. Shrouded under the wild extravagance of the popular
fable, there may lie, some mythic notion of antient and wide-spreading
prevalence,— or even some historical truth of revelation, however
perverted. May we not therefore, possibly, detect in the legend of
these three fabulous spinners, the terrible Valkyriur, of the dark
mythology of our northern ancestors ?f Or if the statement of a

PVLB'i Description and Exegesis of lAe Drtwaltignlon Cromlech, p. 99.
Fatal Sisten, the choosers of the slain, whose dread office in Ihe wi!

Uestio*. is thus celebrated in the lyric strains of the English Pindar :—

o the woof" of

100 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

writer, quoted by Polwhele, be correct, the tradition with regard
to the builders of the cromlech varies, and that, in some cases, he
found its erection attributed to three young men, instead of young
women. " But," continues this writer, commenting upon Mr. Chappie's
observations, " the tradition goes farther, and says that not only the
three pillars were erected in memory of the three young ones, but
that the flat stone which covers them, was placed there in memory of
their father, or mother, according as you supposed the young ones to
be male or female, and that each of these, both young and old,
fetched these stones down from the highest parts of the mountain
of Dartmoor, where, for some reason or other, they had thought fit
to take up their residence. Perhaps the expression Lie Y'spinnwr,
which the author seems to think a spying, or surveying place, might
give rise to the idea of spinners, and thus turn them into three
ladies. Eat you will, perhaps, guess why I incline to suppose these
stones might be erected, among other reasons, in memory of an old
man and his three sons, who descended from an exceeding high
mountain, on a certain occasion." *

What was the occasion alluded to by this writer, it is not diffi-
cult to divine ; and if Druidism is indeed no more than a corruption
of a religion, diffused throughout the world in the earliest ages, by
the descendants of the three diluvian patriarchs, after the division
of the world in the time of Peleg, (Gen. x. 25,) then will this
conjecture, as to the legend of the cromlech, be found of more

Glittering lances are the loom,
Where the dusky warp we strain,

Weaving many a soldier's doom,
Orkney's woe and Handler's bane.

See the grisly texture grow,
('Tis of human entrails made,)

And the weights, that play below,
Each a gasping warrior's head.

Shafts, for shuttles, dipt in gore,
Shoot the trembling cords along ;

Sword, that once a monarch bore,
Keep the tissue firm and strong.

Mista, black terrific maid,
Sangrida and Hilda, see,

Join the wayward work to aid,— 4
'Tis the woof of victory. — Gray.

Polwhblb's Historical View of Devonshire, p. 79.

UKAIU-OKIt TOOL.

101

importance than might at first appear. This opinion will also derive
strength from the fact, that an examination of the situation and
circumstances in which the cromlech is placed, has led to the con-
clusion that there are other relics immediately adjacent to the
cromlech, which are strongly indicative of Arldte worship.

The satellites winch Polwhele mentions as attending the
Drewateignton cromlech, — " two rows of pillars marking out the
processional road of the Druids, and several columnar circles," and
" rock idols at the end of the down, that frown with more than usual
majesty," will now be sought for in vain, even if they ever existed,
to thi? extent described by the author. But on the north side of the
road, by which the cromlech field is bounded, there are objects
highly worthy of examination, which are generally overlooked, and
we probably unknown to many, whose interest is absorbed in the
ctlcbrated spinsters* rock.

Bradford, or Bradmere Pool, is popularly reported to occupy the
sit* of an antient tin mine, a few hundred yards north of the crom- J D-fa
lech. With less regularity of outline in its banks, it would approach -i J ,
more closely to the appearance of a mountain tarn, than any piece
of water in our western moorlands. It covers an area of about three
acres; of a rectangular form, about forty yards wide, and not less
than one hundred and eighty long, is said to be seventy-five feet deep,
and a surrounded on all sides by trees. On the south side, the bank
usm steeply from the brink of the pool, and forms, apparently, the
"Ope of an earthwork, where the vestiges of a ditch or moat can be
traced, surrounding a mound of an elliptical form, measuring, on the
top, one hundred feet by one hundred and thirty. There seems
to have been a provision for chaining this piece of water, should
"cession require. There are too many indications of regularity and
'taign, to admit of the supposition, that this mound is nothing
"We than the upcast of an abandoned mine ; but if it should be
!!l "":;l)t that the traces of entrenchment are not sufficiently decisive
Lis being regarded as having been constructed for the
Purposes of defence, there is yet another hypothesis, which would
i *>ga its erection to the earliest periods of history, and connect it
*'tu the artificial formation of the adjoining sheet of water, and the
; r action of the cromlech as noticed above.

102 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

I have before me the MSS. notes of Col. Hamilton Smith/ on
these relics, after a visit to the spot, in which he remarks the
appearances which presented themselves to our notice, and records
the conclusion to which he had arrived, from a personal inspection.
" The sheet of water, or dub, embracing a part of the sacred hill,
and probably a sacred grove, having on one side an oblique com-
munication with the water by a gradual ascent, occurs in other places,
particularly in two similar monuments of Celtic origin, among the
Savern hills and the Vogesian mountains, where altars, sacred inclo-
sures, and consecrated pools of great depth occur as here. Forests
surround them, as was no doubt the case also at Shilston. As for the
sloping ditch, forming a road, it may have served for the covered
coracle, containing the novice in his mystic regeneration, and second
birth, to be drawn up from the waters to the mimic Ararat of
Gwidd-nau."

" Worship on high places," says Mr. Harcourt, " imitations, or at
least memorials of Ararat — was a characteristic feature of the diluvian
rites ;" and the same author has adduced a number of instances to
show, that where natural hills or mountains contiguous to, or peninsu-
lated by, water, did not occur, that the memory of the diluvian
mountain would be preserved in artificial mounts and pools, such as
Col. Smith supposes those at Shilston to have been ; where, as it has
been shown, the artificial piece of water, (Dub ,fj is in immediate
connexion with an artificial mound. The reasons for this, he traces
to a traditionary recollection of the altar built upon Mount Ararat,
by Noah, and to a supposed injunction of that patriarch to his
descendants to construct their altars in such situations as would
preserve the memory of that awful catastrophe, and that the cause of
the deluge was the impiety of mankind. " Thus every high place
devoted to religion, would become a sign or emblem of Ararat. * * *
All indeed, who retained any reverence for the patriarchal precept,
would avoid a long residence upon extensive plains, because it would
deprive them of their hill altars. "When, therefore, the rebels of

* The high reputation of a gentleman, so profoundly versed in antiquities, ethnology
and the physical history of man, as Col. Smith, will not fail to ensure the greatest respect,
for any opinion he may advance.

f " Dub, in Ghaldee, is To flow." Doct. Del., vol. ii., p. 417.

BRADFORD POOL.

103

Shinar, in opposition lo the Divine will, determined not to be
dispersed, their leaders could not devise a more politic plan for
keeping them contentedly in the plain, than by building an artificial
mountain, to be their place of worship, that the name of the Lord
might dwell there."*

Our author further shows, from a variety of evidence, that " the
mountain was honoured first as the throne of the avenging deity,
and secondly, as the sanctuary of peace, which was first disclosed by
the retiring flood. At the same time," he continues, " there is dis-
tinctly visible on idolatrous disposition to transfer the glory of the
Creator to the creature, either to the mountain or the man, which
extended itself even to the remotest islands, scattered in the Pacific
Ocean, and must therefore be admitted to exhibit, in the strongest
light, the indelible permanence of its character, and the antiquity of
its origin. Those," says the missionary Ellis, " who were initiated
into the company of Areois, invoked the Mouna Tabu, or sacred
mountain ; which, it further appears, is exactly like one of the
mountains or mounds which were held sacred by the Celts, for it is
conical, and situated near a lake, and what is most material to this
enquiry, the natives have a tradition which shows, at once, the reason
of its being Tabu, or sacred. The San dwic hers," says the missionary,
" believe that the Creator destroyed the earth by an inundation that
covered the whole earth except Mouna Koa, in Owhyhec or Hawaii,
on the top of which one single pair had the good fortune to save
themselves." f

If, therefore, it should be questioned, whether the evidence of the
existence of such a sacred mound and lake, J at Bradford Pool, as are
above described, is sufficiently conclusive, it must be admitted that the
widely-spread tradition of the deluge, in connexion with consecrated
mountains, may jusdy be alleged as an argument in its favour. If the
memory of that "overwhelming flood" is preserved at the antipodes,
in our own times, it can scarcely be imagined that it had not reached
oar Celtic ancestors, two or three thousand years ago, by means of
their intercourse with the Phoenicians, even if it had not been

• Docl. Del., vol. L. p. 149. t lb., vol. i., p. 378.

I Among the legends of the neighbourhood, may be mentioned one, which relates,
thai linn* ii a parage lineJ with Impe Mimes (high enough foi ii man to walk upright)
bom thi* lake to the Teign, near the Logan-stone.

104 PER AM ROTATION OF DARTMOOR.

brought hither by aboriginal settlers from the east. In that <
specimen of our antient native literature, the Welsh Triads, we
accordingly find an express mention of the deluge, in the account of
the bursting forth of the lake, LI ion, by which the face of the earth
was overwhelmed, and all mankind drowned, with the exception of a
single pair, who escaped in a boat, and subsequently repeoplcd the
island of Britain.

The tradition of the deluge, being thus manifestly familiar t
the primitive inhabitants of our island, it is far from improbable, 1
indications of its existence would be found in their religious rites »
monumental relics. And if, as some antiquaries contend, c
are Arkite cells, not only is plausibility added to the oonji
which interprets the legend of the erection of the Drewsteignkiu
cromlech, by three young men and their father, who came down
from the heights of Dartmoor, as originating in an obscured and
perverted tradition of Noah and his three sons, — but the probability
of an Arkite character pervading the accompanying archaeological
relics, is increased in proportion.

Leaving these interesting speculations, we shall now proceed
eastward, by the Drewsteignton road, to Stone Cross, the origin of
which appellation we shall have no difficulty in tracing to the- fai-
famed cromlech. Turning out of that road, at the cross, wo dull
take the right hand lane, and passing by Stone Farm and Parford,
shall reach Sandypark, at the crossing of the roads to Okefa
and Moreton, Chagford and Exeter. Here, at the wayside U
stranger may obtain directions for finding his way to the Logan-stune,
should the route now indicated, be insufficient for that purpose,
which, however, will scarcely be the case. The Moreton road from
Sandypark will lead us directly to the bridge over the Tcign,
within a furlong from the inn. We shall not cross the bridge, but
shall follow a beaten path on the left, down the river, along the
northern bank. Following the course of the stream, as it
tlirough the meadows, we shall soon reach that point, where a rock-
crcstcd headland rises abruptly above the little lateral vale of Coombc,
on one side, and the wooded steeps of Whiddon Park press forward to
narrow the valley on the other. Scarcely a quarter of a mile from
tins point, by keeping close to the river's brink, on the north side, we
shall discover the Logan-stone, already referred to in the ■

FINGLE BRIDGE.

105

description, (p. 26.) Should the explorer inadvertently follow a
more accessible track, which winds along the side of the hill, at a
short distance above the river, he may pass the Logan-stone without
noticing it, among the numerous masses of granite, with which the
channel of the Tcign is profusely strewed ; but by making his own
path close to the brink, he will not fail to find the object of his search,
rising boldly out of the bed of the river near the northern bank.
It is an irregular pentagonal mass, the sides of which are of the
following dimensions. Eastern, five feet four inches in width;
northern, seven feet eight; north-west, six feet four; south-east,
five feet four ; and the southern, towards the river, ten feet six. It is
about seven feet and a half in height at the western corner. This
huge mass rests on a single rock, and still loggs perceptibly, but
very slightly, by the application of one man's strength, but the
motion most have been much greater in former times, especially
in those early ages when probably its nicely- adjusted eqiiipoisc was
rendered subservient to the purposes of Druidical delusion.

Proceeding down the river, we shall be greeted with some of
the most striking vale scenery in the west of England. The course is
a continuous succession of graceful curves ; the banks, on the south,
or Moreton side, clothed with wood and heather, as high as the eye
can reach, and on the Drewsteignton slope presenting abrupt and
bare declivities, occasionally interspersed with craggy projections,
beetling above our rugged but romantic pathway. In one particular
spot, high in the abrupt declivity, two bold cliffs will be observed,
jutting out from the lull, like the ramparts of a redoubt, guarding
the narrow pass below. Lower down, the northern bank becomes
wooded, and the path, proceeding through a tangled copse, at length
emerges upon the Drewsteignton and Moreton road at Fingle*
Bridge. Here let us pause on its narrow roadway — just wide enough
for a single cart — to gaze from its grey moorstone parapet, on a
scene, the general features of which may be recorded by the pen,
bat of whose particular features of loveliness, the pencil alone can
convey an adequate idea. Three deeply- scooped valleys, converging

" Some topographers, misled by sound, ot aniious to impart an Ossianic character
to tiic »noi, have spelt this wont— Fingal. Mr. Short! derives Fingla from Fyn, Cornish,
■ boundary, and Gelli, hazel. But oa* is the characteristic trea of this moorland
boundary, and not hoztl. May not gill, the woll-known designation of a waterfall,
■snoog UM Comb-rim Celu, form part of the original word, which would then be Fingill ?

to one point, — two at three little stripes of greenest meadow-
occupying all the narrow level at the foot of the encircling hill*, — thf
fortified headland of Prestonbury, rising bold and precipitous, iu
rigid angular outline strikingly contrasted with the graceful undu-
lations of the woody slopes which confront its southern glacis, — the
mill at their base embowered in foliage, and the river, clear and
vigorous, giving animation to the scene, without marring iu sylvan
seclusion, — all combine to form a scene of surpassing loveliness,
which it is a disgrace for any Devonians not to have visited, before
they set out in search of the picturesque, to "Wales or Cumberland, or
the Highlands, and, still more, before they make their continental
peregrinations,

Or by the lazy Scheldt or wandering Po,
Or onward, where the rude Carinuuan boor
Against the houseless stranger, shuts his door.
Proceeding from Fingle Bridge, we shall now mount the
adjacent hill towards Moreton, by a steep mountain road, at whose
narrowness and ruggedness we shall not for one moment repine, since
it retains enough of primitive simplicity, and freedom from modem
improvement, to make the supposition perfectly credible, tliat it is
the identical track, by which our aboriginal forefathers maintained a
communication between Preatonbury fort and the champaign country
beyond, and Cranbrook Castle on the crown of the hill above, and the
moorlands of the interior. So steep is the ascent, that it can only be
accomplished by a succession of zigzags ; and these, at the several
angles, present the most favourable points for commanding the
romantic scenery of the vale of the Teign below. At one of these
elbows, about half a mile up the bill, the view is so striking that it
would amply repay those who, perhaps, generally content themselves
with the more accessible beauties of Fingle Bridge, for the trouble
of the ascent. The road passes through oak copse, which shuts
out all but glimpses of the surrounding scenery, until you reach this
point, when a scene of singular loveliness bursts upon the sight. We
look down upon the wooded glen through which the Teign winds
his devious course from Chagford to Fingle Bridge. Five pro-
jections of hills fold in behind one another ; the last, on the right
hand bank, being the craggy ridge above the Logan-stone, and on the
left, the wooded declivity of Whiddon Park. Imagine the morning

ntal

PEEBTONBUItV.

107

to be still, and partially overcast, (and to be seen in perfection, we
should reach our point before the sun has passed the meridian), such
a sky as we often have in August and September, when the " lazy
clouds," pacing slowly along, throw one part of the landscape into
dark shadow, while the other remains in uninterrupted sunshine.
The narrow vale of the Teign, seen from this spot, thus enveloped
in shade, seems to sink deeper down in gloom and pleasing mystery.
Beyond its western gorge, in the middle distance, cornfields, pastures,
groves, cottages, and farmsteads, are glowing beneath the sunbeams
in tli^tinct and characteristic colour, while Cosdon, from these peculiar
" skiey influences," borrows more than his natural elevation, and
towers, in purple majesty, high in the distant west.

At the angle of the next zigzag, we look down upon Prestonbury,
and enjoy a favourable opportunity for obtaining a bird's eye view
of the fortifications of this remarkable headland ; and shall be better
able to estimate the wisdom of our British ancestors in fortifying this
important position ; which, as it has been already observed, seems
intended to command a border pass, from the champaign country,
north and east, by the ford, or bridge, (which, probably of Cyclopean
construction, existed even in the earliest ages,) into the moorland
district, then the favourite habitation of the hardy Danmonian
Britons.

Emerging from the copse, the road still winds upward through
a common, richly embroidered with the purple heather, golden furze,
and green whortle. Arrived at the top, a grass path turns ofF from
the beaten road over the common to the left, by following which, we
shall soon find ourselves within the area of another of these hill-
forts, of which there was an evident chain guarding the moorland
frontier. Cranbrook Castle occupies the highest ground of all the
neighbouring forts ; and whilst it would be chosen for the purposes of
defence, it seems impossible to observe how it commands the whole
of the vale of Chagford, the country round Drewstcignton, together
with a vast tract of Dartmoor, south and west, and a considerable
extent in north and east Devon, without concluding that it would
be also used as a speculum, or watch-tower, and that an alarm would
be often given from this height by the kindling of the beacon-fire.

Mr. Shortt describes Cranbrook Castle as " consisting of a
vallum, or agger of moorstone, without cement, about seven acres in

108

PERAMUVT.ATION OP DABTMOOR.

extent." Lysons mentions it " as an irregular encampment, conta
about six or seven acres, with a double ditch on the south,
ditch on the west, and none on the north and east." On measui
it, in 1840, I found it six hundred and sixty-six paces within the
rampart, the inner slope of which, on the south side, was then about
twenty-one feet, the outer, forty-two feet in height. It is quite
clear that the north side (towards the deep vide of the Teign) vu
never so strongly fortified, as the southern and western sides, where
the hill ia much more accessible. No one can visit this interesting
monument of antient days, without grieving to observe the wanton
spoliation to which it has been exposed by reckless ignorance and
parochial parsimony. We perceive, with indignation and regret,
that the rampart has been resorted to (and that in a country where
stone is found at every step in redundant profusion) as a convenient
quarry for road material. In one spot, on the west, I found the
vallum, or rampart, had been dug up to the very foundations. My
lamented friend, and antiquarian coadjutor,* who visited it in 1832,
first called attention to this gratuitous spoliation, and, in 1840,
Mr. Shortt brought it under the notice of the late Col. Fulford,
whose regard for the venerable relics of antiquity, I rejoice to say,
immediately led to securing this interesting relic from total destruction.
Mr. Shortt, in his Collectanea Curiosa, gives the following account ; —
" The composition of the vallum, or agger, is chiefly moorstone,
loosely piled together, of no great height, in some parts grauwacke,
or shillct. Part of both have been broken into small fragments, as
material for the adjacent roads, and ready for removal. I took the
first opportunity of remonstrating, in the proper quarter, against this
Vandalic piece of profanation, which is of a piece with that which,
in other parts of the kingdom, has fast obliterated the traces of many
noble and venerable works of antiquity, * * • and hope to -•-.-■
noble camp from future devastation by the mediation of a trustee
of the property, the public-spirited representative of the antient
house of Fulford." " The agger of granite, at Cranbrook, may
have been British," continues Mr. Shortt, "and the shape on the
north-east and south-east, which is not entirely circular, may per-
haps lead some to suppose it was an anticum, or summer camp of the

• Mr. Henry Woollccmbo, lalo of Plymouth.

(RAN BROOK CASTLE.

109

Romans." * But Mr. "Wo oil com be, whose valuable MSS., containing
the results of his examination of more than fourscore of these antient
hill-forts in Devon, I have now before me, unhesitatingly pronounces
it to have been a British settlement.

" Cranbrook Castle, near Moreton, is situated in that parish.
I have twice visited it, the last time in 1832. It is constructed on
the brow of a hill above the Teign river, commanding most extensive
views on every side ; to the north, seeing hills, which, I conclude,
must be in the neighbourhood of Barnstaple, Coddon Hill, and that
range ; to the south, seeing the barrier of Dartmoor. On this side,
Coedon is magnificent; and many tors adorn the scene, especially
Heytor, in the south-cast quarter. Towards Exeter, the view is
uncommonly rich, as it is likewise westward, though not equally so.
This castle is evidently the remains of a British town of large dim en -
sions, being surrounded by a single rampart only, and one t ditch on
the outside. The vallum has been composed of stones principally,
but many have been dug up to make fences, yet still enough remains
to attest the antiquity of the structure."

Returning by a grassy path to the Moreton road, we shall soon
reach a weather-beaten granite guide-post, at a crossway. Turning to
the right, we shall follow the old Exeter and Chagford road, down
the hill, as it skirts Whiddon Park, and thus completing our circuit,
return to Chagford, to prepare for our next excursion.

Having mounted the hill immediately above the town, and
examined the rock-basins on Middledown, we shall proceed by the
Tavistock Road, towards the moor, in the direction of Jesson. Near
this place the road passes through a moor-gate, where the place of
gate-posts is supplied by two natural masses of granite rock. On the
top of that on the right, are three rock-basins, one of which, is very
perfect, and well denned. On the opposite rock, there are some
cavities, evidently of natural formation, presenting a marked contrast
to the artificial appearance of the former.

Pursuing our course in a westerly direction, we shall enter upon
the commons, towards Broadmoor mires and Bushdown Heath, one
of the spots where a few grouse still find shelter in the heathery

* Shohtt'9 Collectanea Curiosa, p. 26.

t On revisiting Cranbiook, in JBil), Mr. Woolkombc made a more partkolir
elimination of the ditch and found it double, on the south, as kbore stated.

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

cover. Here the hills begin to swell boldly from the lowlands, a
numerous springs trickle from the bog*, to render their tribute to the
neighbouring Teign. The scene which here presents itself, might
have formed the original of the moorland border picture, so graphically
sketched by the truthful pencil of Scott. " A few birches and oaks
still feathered the narrow ravine, or occupied, in dwarf clusters, the
hollow plains of the moor. But these were gradually disappearing,
and a wide and waste country lay before them, swelling into bare
hills of dark heath, intersected by deep gullies, being the passages by
which torrents forced their currents in winter ; and, during summer,
the disproportionate channels for diminished rivulets, that winded
their puny way among heaps of stone and gravel, the effect* and
tokens of their wintry fury, like so many spendthrifts, dwindled down
by the consequences of former excesses and extravagance." *

Many of these streams, such as Shute Lake, are tributaries of the
South Teign, towards which we shall now bend our courso for the
sake of visiting the Grey Wethers, by this route, should the tourist
prefer it, to the excursion along the North Teign, already pointed out,
(p. 77.) Passing between Loughten Tor on the left, and Fcnworthr
on the right, we shall follow the principal stream of the South Teign,
hi a westerly direction ; and having traced it to its source, within a
mile of Sittaford Tor, shall be in a position to command a full view of
these remarkable circles. Seen from this spot, wc shall readily trace
the popular designation to the appearance, which at a distance these
time-worn masses would present to the moorland shepherds, of a flock
of sheep, pasturing on the common. But the more poetic eye, will
rather here realize the image of a group of overthrown Titans, as
"bodied forth" by the bard, who might almost be supposed t<
sketched, on this spot, the grand and gloomy imagery of one o
most striking scenes of his Ilyperion —

One here, one there,

Lny, vnst and edgeways, like a dismal cirqne,

Of Drnid stones, upon a forlorn moor

When the chill rain begins at shot of eve.

In doll November, and their chancel-vault ;

The heav'n itself, is blinded throughout night. — Keats.

OBEY WETHERS.

Ill

These circles have been already sufficiency described, (p. 77,) nor
should we find anything at Sittaford Tor sufficiently attractive to
induce us to extend our excursion in that direction. "We shall
therefore retrace our steps along the eastern bank of the South Teign.
Here the moormen will point out to us the dark green spikes of the
sparrow grass, which they affirm to be of the most deleterious quality,
if eaten by bullocks before Midsummer, but perfectly harmless and
nutritious for cattle, after that season of the year. Continuing by a
moorland cart-track, in the same direction, we shall soon pass Mevil,
near which is the moor-gate bounding the parishes of Lydford and
Chagford. Following this track, with the Teign on the left, flowing
below Thornworthy Tor, we shall cross Tawton Common, where are
some faint vestiges of tracklines and a hut-circle of the ordinary
description, about thirty feet in diameter. From hence we may vary
our route by following the lane nearest to the Teign, through Gully
Hole, instead of taking the road which passes immediately below
Middledown to Chagford.

Bidding farewell to Chagford, we shall proceed by the high road
to Moreton Hampstead, our next station, passing Wick Green — a
name in which will probably be traced vestiges of an antient Vicus —
and Drewston,* the place referred to by Chappie, (quoted above,) as
indicating, together with Drcwsteignton, the former haunts of the
Druids. In Moreton, we shall find excellent accommodation at the
White Hart, where tourists, who may require post-horses or chaise,
be accommodated with both steed and vehicle, as this town is
rituatcd on the turnpike road from Exeter to Plymouth and Tavistock,
and is the market and post-town of a considerable district. In the
situation of Moreton, and the objects by which it is surrounded, we
shall not fail to observe evidence sufficient to convince us that the
true orthography of the name is Moortown, and to none of our
border-towns could that appellation be so properly applied, encom-
passed as it is by a noble amphitheatre of hills and moorlands, at a

x or less distance, in every direction. Moreton is a clean-
looking, cheerful little town, built on a gently rising knoll. The
are irregular, and many of the houses arc of that antient and

112

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

substantial character, which marks the neighbourhood of the n
The sunken cross, leaning against an old pollard elm, in the principal
street, — the open arcade of circular-headed arches (a relic of the
early part of the seventeenth, century) in front of the old poor-house,
and the church, with its lofty granite tower, will all be noticed, as
characteristic and interesting features in the scene. From the brow
of the knoll, on which the church is budt, one can scarcely look forth
on the surrounding eminences without being forcibly reminded of
the hills which stand round about Jerusalem, as beautifully described
by the sacred lyrist in Psalm exxv. And while our thoughts are
thus directed to Him, whose omnipresent power stands round about
his people, the rock-idol, which rises darkling from yonder rugged
steep, and Heytor, with its rock-basins, looming huge and grand in
the southern horizon, carries the thoughts back to " the vanities"
of our heathen forefathers, and to the sad spectacles which then-
blood-stained altars presented, in contrast with the pure and peaceful
shrines of our Christian England, consecrated to the service of " the
True God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." Let us now
proceed to examine these and other relics, which can be conveniently
visited from Moreton as a central point.

Taking a northward direction, the ground we traverse will be
adjacent to that which we passed, in our excursion to Cranbrook
Castle. Leaving the town by the old road to Exeter, we shall mount
a steep ascent, and, at abou.t the distance of a mile and a half, shall
diverge to the right, across the common, to examine the antiquarian
relics on Mardon Down, But before leaving the road, let us pause to
cast a glance at the landscape which stretches away to the south, aa wc
shall never see Heytor, to greater advantage than from this point.
The view of Moreton and the surrounding country is also very
interesting. Mounting the northern slope of Mardon, we shall notice
some aboriginal relics. Among these, the most conspicuous is a
circle, thirty yards in circumference, with nine stones remaining
erect in their original position, one of which stands two feet and a
half above the surface, and is of similar form with the jambs of hut-
circles, in other parts. The collection of small stones in the area,
would rather convey the notion of a dilapidated cairn, from which
the greater part of the stones had been removed. Near the circle
are some tracklines, two of which intersect each other. Mounting

WOOSTON CASTLE.

113

the lull and bearing towards the south, in search of the Giant's
G^ave,• as laid down in the Ordnance Map, on the S.E. side of
Mardon, we shall notice the remains of a cairn, which seems to be
the relic so designated, but which presents no appearance worthy
of particular remark. Turning northwards again, and following a
moorland track over the common, wc shall leave Buttern Down liigh
on the left, and return by the old road from More ton to Clifford
Bridge, passing Pinmoor (more correctly perhaps Penmoor) in our
way to Wooston Castle. Near a finger-post, where a road branches
off to Chagford in the direction of Cranbrook Castle, we shall diverge
to the left over a common overgrown with heath and furze, which
slopes northwards, in the direction of the Tcign. The ground has
evidently been much disturbed, and it is traditionally reported in
the neighbourhood that the appearances here presented are vestiges
of antient mining operations, but some of them look much more like
fortifications, in connexion probably with Wooston Castle, which we
shall now proceed to examine, as it is immediately in front, rising
boldly above the wooded glen of the Tcign.

Wooston Castle is by far the most curious and interesting
specimen of antient castrametation, in the whole of our moorland
region. Mr. Shortt pronounces it to be a British camp, and justly
conjectures it, with Cranbrook and Prestonbury, to " have been one
of a chain of forts on the Telgn." The camp itself is an earthwork
of an irregular oval form, but there are subsidiary entrenchments
and other works, in immediate connexion with it, of an exceedingly
interesting description. The site itself is worthy of remark, as
occupying much lower ground than the lull which rises immediately
behind it, on the south. But with relation to the valley of the
Teign, it rises high above a precipitous, wooded cliff. It would
»r, therefore, that the greatest dinger was apprehended from the
north, where, probably, in the lowlands, tribes of different manners

ho-lilc dispositions were seated, against whose incursions the
Danmonian highbinders found it necessary to guard their frontier.

• " Kafdon," »ay» Mr. Shortl, " which bona to of the giant's cairo, or grave, but
tumv/vi of llie (riant wm anfortmi&tel; stripped of ils granite to repair tlio roads, and
plm:e of sepulture was nearly obliterated in consequence." Shobtt'b Collect., p, 28.
| Her. W. f.jnsford, the Hector of Drews to ignton, Rises a similar account of the
.oval of the materials of some tumuli, on Murdon, lor the repair of the ronds ; and
of thoae is, in all probability, the calm above mentioned, known traditionally as the
Grave.

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

The camp occupies a platform, or ledge, on the side of the
furzy hill above described. On the north and west sides, the rampart
follows, for the most part, the natural outline of the ground, which
sinks deeply down towards the river. The rampart, or vallum, is
accordingly very inconsiderable, where the ground itself rendered
the camp impregnable. On the north, west, and part of the east
side, the rampart is unprovided with a fosse, but on the southern
side there is a deep ditch, and a rampart at least ten or twelve yardi
in average height, from the bottom of the trench to the crest of the
vallum. In 1840, I traced the line of circumvallation on the south
and west sides very distinctly, to an extent of two hundred and forty
yards. Mr. H. WooUcombe, who visited Wooston in the same year,
gives the following description of the subsidiary earthworks. " About
two hundred feet up the hill, towards the south, where the castle was
very defenceless, another considerable rampart was made, with a
deep ditch on the outer side. On the eastern side of the castle, and
immediately communicating with it, is a covered way, which descends
to the river, and might afford shelter, for access to the fortress. But
from whence it communicates with the camp, it proceeds up the hill
for some distance beyond the second rampart, and terminates in a
mound," which, apparently, may have been used as a fire-beacon, as
from hence may be seen Prcstonbury and Granbrook Castle on one
side, and Holcombc and Pcrridge t on the other, and an immense
extent to the northward. Higher tip the hill, adjoining the road to
Morcton, another piece of rampart occurs, totally unconnected with
the castle. This has much the appearance of the banks raised by
the Romans for their roads, but it is an isolated piece, which I could
trace no further; it is true the ground adjoining is cultivated, and,
therefore, its continuation may have been obliterated." * Mr. Wooll-
combe's notion of the fire-beacon on the south, in connexion with the
principal work, removes a difficulty which occurred to my mind,
when I observed that from the castle itself, so few of the neigh-
bouring hill-forts could be seen. Neither Cranbrook nor Cotley are

■ A deep trackway, or ditch, nppears to lend into l!ie work from the upper pul of
the hill, mid there is besides a email crescent-ahaped redoubt, or outwork, abuve Uie
Ciiiii|>, and 1'u.cinglo the west. Suontr'a Collect., p. 28.

t Better known by the name of Coltcy, on the crown of a coni'Mi hill, in Hie N-E
corner of tlie parish of Dunsfurd, torn man ding a fine view of Eieter and the Tale of Ihe
Teign. 1 lind that the adjoining held, is still called CasUe Field.

t Woolloobde's Fortified Bill* in Devon, MSS.

CLIPFOHD BRIDGE. 115

in view from that point, but since these and others can be commanded
from some spot within the entrenchment, the choice of this situation
for a fortified post is more intelligible ; yet should we be far from
concluding that a work of such extent was ever constructed for the
purposes of a beacon only, as appears to have been sometimes sup-
posed, from Mjf.Shortt's pertinent remarks on the subject. "The
shape and defensive lines of Wooston, and its adjacent colossal
brethren, must put an end to the hypothesis of their being mere
beacons, on which no such labour was needed to be lavished j nor
were they the Gorsedifou, or British Courts, seats of judgment, and
Goreeddadleti , convened in the open air, on the tops of hills, for the
same ostensible reason, any more than astronomical observatories
of Druidism."

Taking advantage of the covered way, above described by
Mr. Woollcombe, by which our ancestors resorted to the river, for
water or other purposes ; at the interval of twenty centuries, we shall
follow their footsteps through brakes and thickets, down to the south
bank of the Teign, where it forms a sharp bend immediately beneath
the natural glacis of the castle. From hence we shall make our way,
by a beaten path, — where occasional difficulties will scarcely do
more than increase the interest of the walk, along this sequestered
dell, — until we reach Clifford Bridge, where the old road from
Moreton and Chagford passes eastward to Exeter and Crediton.

The scenery here, though not so bold and romantic as at Fingle,
varied, pleasing, and characteristic. The river glides away in a
graceful sweep below thickly- wooded acclivities on the right bank
towards Dunsford. The country, on the eastern side, though
inclosed and cultivated, rises scarcely less boldly, and from several
points commands highly-interesting views of the course of the Teign,
it flows down through its woodland gorge from the western moor-
lands. Prestonbury, with its bold angular headland, scarped down
to the river's brink, forms a prominent object, in front of the deep,
wooded glen beyond, while the giant bulk of Cosdon shuts in the
scene, in ihc distant west.

Crossing Clifford Bridge, we shall diverge from the Moreton
road, and follow a pleasing rural lane on the right hand, which, at first,
skirts along the eastern bank of the river, but soon striking into the
inclosed country, leads us through the charmingly situated village

116 1'BRAMBUI.ATION OF DARTMOOB.

of Dunsford, to Dunsford Bridge, where the features of i
beauty, though of similar character, are moro striking than tho*
Clifford. We now find ourselves on the direct road from Exct
Moreton, and as we mount the lull, looking down a precipitous *'
to the river on the right, shall notice the peculiar characterist
the scenery of the Upper Teign, in the steep cliffy banks of re<
gray rock, shouldering back the course of the river, — the protrudi
banks being bare and rocky, and the corresponding recessions on the
opposite side, being, for the most part, woody. These characteristics
prevail along the course of the Teign, in a greater or less degree,
from Whiddon Fark to Dunsford Bridge. Many patches of the
shelving bank on the north side, studded with groups of low brush-
wood, with the gray debris of the rock scattered between, will
recall (on a small scale) the appearance of Fairfield Hill, above
Rydal Mount, Westmorland, as seen from the top of Loughxigg, on
the opposite side of Rydal Water.

Still following the turnpike, we shall observe a wild brow rising
on the left above the road, called AVoodhiU, where hugo bowlder
masses project from among the furze and heather ; the first charac-
teristic and unequivocal indications of our approach to the great
granitic district of Devon from the cast. We shall continue to follow
the road, until we reach the top of the hill, at tho crossway, where a
finger-post points out a road to Crcditon on the right, and a lane, cm the
lilt, leads to Blackystone. By taking the latter road, and proceeding
eastward, we shall soon discern this remarkable tor, rising in sombre
majesty from the common. It consists principally of two huge
masses of natural rock, the upper, crowning its colossal supporter
with an immense granite cap. This tor, like its twin -brother,
Whitestone, (or lleltor, as it is more generally called,) forms a con-
spicuous object to the whole country round, and as far south, a*
the mail road, near Eickington, it may be seen peering over the edge
of Pcppcrn Down. Leaving Blackystone, by the road which winds
round its base, we shall proceed somewhat to the north, and, at about
the distance of a mile, shall reach lleltor, which occupies a more
commanding position than even Blackystone, as the hill on which it
stands, rises abruptly from the vale of the Teign. Hem
discernible from a greater distance to the north and east, than il*
giant brother is to the south. Viewed from Dunsford and the

HELTOK AND BLACK YSmXE.

immediate neighbourhood, it wears the appearance of some antient
castle-keep, drapericd with ivy, and built to defend the pass below.
On a closer examination, it is found to consist of two distinct, but
closely adjacent piles, on the top of which are rock-basins ; three on
the northern pile and three on the southern. One of these is consi-
derably larger than the others. They are all of irregular forms ; the
larger about three feet in diameter. Thus, on the eastern confines
of the moor, Heltor and Blackystone are stationed, at the gates
of the wilderness, the Teign, which flows hard by, forming the
natural boundary of the Dartmoor district ; and the former of these
remarkable tors, rises, as we have seen, immediately above the
southern bank of that river.

Ucltor stands about a mile north of Bridford Church. Pro-
ceeding to that village, and going along the road to Exeter, about a
quarter of a mile, we shall observe in a field, on the right, adjoining
the lane, a conglomeration of stones, looking like the remains of a
dilapidated cairn. In this heap of small stones, two tabular masses,
appearing originally to have formed the side stones of a large kistvaen,
placed tn a parallel position ; the largest, six feet wide, three
feet above the surface, and about eighteen inches in average thickness,

Proceeding southward from Bridford, we shall mount the hill
which rises in front of the village, to visit Skat Tor, remarkable for
its singular conformation. The south front is graduated into a series
of rude seats, or steps, leading to a broad platform, on wliich is
placed a mass of rock, with a smaller one at the side, as if it might
have been the result of art. I do not find that Skat Tor ever enjoyed
ihe reputation of a logan-stone ; but if so, this curious appearance
would, in all probability, be satisfactorily explained. Skat Tor occu-
pies a commanding situation above the vale of the Teign, between
Bridford and Christow.

Retracing our steps by Blackystone to the Moreton turnpike, we
dull pass near a farm, called Moor Barton, in the parish of Moreton,
where, at no distant time, there existed a cairn,* which was destroyed
by the occupier, in carrying into effect some agricultural improve-

• Mr. Sbortt thus describes Ihe cairn, and the interesting relics found there when
il »i* opened. The lumulua was " nine Inndynrds round, in which a sort of rode
fc*»»el>, of iii (treat stones, was found, with ,1 spear-liond of copper, the two pegs, or
tfmti, which fastened it to its stnlf; a kIuss British bead, and a small dmuk't of soft
ime chief, — calcined bones, ashes, &c." Shohtt's Collect., p. 29.

118 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

ments on the estate. The spear-head, glass bead, &c., which were
taken from the kistvaen, were, for some time, in the possession of the
Rev. Mr. Carrington, late vicar of Bridford, and are important in the
chain of evidence by which the occupancy of this part of the island
in remote ages is established.

Following the turnpike, as it winds down the hill towards
Moreton, one of the finest of our moorland border landscapes expands
before us. The greater portion of the amphitheatre, which sweeps
round the town, is seen from a most favourable point of view. The
huge dorsal ridge of Hamildon, stretches far across the western
horizon, while along the Bovey Vale, southward, the eye looks down
a long-drawn vista, where the picturesque forms of the ground, and
the rich variety of foliage, irresistibly attract the attention, and make
us resolve to obtain a nearer view of the individual features of this
charming scene, assured that they will lose nothing of their attractions
on a closer inspection.

Our next excursion will therefore lead us by the Bovey and
Newton road to Lustleigh, which we shall reach, (within five miles,)
by diverging to the right. Lustleigh Church is placed on the plea-
sant slope of one of our deepest Devonshire coombs* where the most
pleasing features of village scenery are happily combined, whilst not
a single uncongenial object intrudes to mar the keeping of the har-
monious whole. A clear vigorous stream, ripples cheerily down the
dell, — to turn the busy mill at the end of the hamlet ; graceful shel-
ving acclivities partitioned by varied foliage into green crofts, or
blooming garden grounds, substantial farm-steads, and whitewashed
cottages peep from among the orchards or are nestled under shelter-
ing trees. Bowlder rocks, with thickets and copse interspersed,
protrude from the soil, on the higher ground, while the far-famed
Lustleigh Cleave, with its granite barrier, fences in the vale from the
storms of the neighbouring moor. The combination of rural scenery
of this particular class, thus presented in this sequestered spot, is
certainly not surpassed, if equalled, in any other part of Devonshire.

Passing from the church up a steep bridle-road, to a nearer
examination of the Cleave, we shall find it to be a genuine moorland

* Coomb, or combe, from the Anglo-Saxon Coomb, a low valley. This term is
peculiarly descriptive of the curved hollows which are scooped out on the sides of oar
Devonshire hills, especially in the sandstone formation.

LUSTLEIGH CLEAVE.

119

Obiter, where, amidst the wilderness of granite masses, it will be
difficult to detect the particular block, which is said to be a logan-stone,
hut where many are so placed that they might be easily made to logg ,-
and some may have thus moved, without strictly claiming the honour
of the antient logan. But if we should fail in identifying any
Druidical relic in this rocky labyrinth, the smiling coomb of Lustleigh
below, contrasted with the stem magnificence of the moorland heights
above, "ill abundantly repay the trouble of the explorer ; and some will
ih i "k the picturcsqtte masses of rock, with shrubs and foliage springing
up from their fissures, in the evergreen crofts of the little hamlet of
Hammerslake just below, are more worthy of notice and admiration
than the more conspicuous and celebrated Cleave itself.

Returning through Lustleigh, to the turnpike-road, we shall leave
it at a place called Slade, where a lane on the left mounts the hill
eastward. On reaching ihe lull, by turning to the right, and proceed-
ing along the crest of the eminence, we shall reach Bottor Rock, a con-
spicuous tor," at the extremity of the headland, which rises above the
valley of the Teigu and Bovey Heathficld.f The huge block on the
highest part of the tor has been supposed, to have been worshipped as
a rock-idol. Some vestiges of antient remains have been discovered in
the immediate vicinity. { From this point which presents a noble
panorama of varied interest, bounded by Haldon, the heights of
Dartmoor and the coast, we shall bid farewell to the Teign, which has
so long been the companion of our wanderingB. We shall mark its
course along the deep vale on the left, with the pleasant town of
Chudleigh, and its characteristic cliff, on the eastern bank. Below

* Boltor may be cosily visited from Chudleigh, from which it ia scarcely three miles

t Bottor, Dear Hcnnock, has oak trees growing in its clefts, and at its feet are
hMlows. like cavern*, lined with 6y?viu nufe.it, which according to De Luc, at particular
■pots. Mid iu certain lights, displays a very glittering appearance, of a greenish hue.
Sota to Cahringtoic's Dartmoor.

X Mr. W. C. Radley of Nevrton Abbot, in a communication inserted in Woolmer's
EtEtcr Gazette. Not. lfltl, records the following appearances at Bottor. " About three
hundred yards S.W., in a large field called Brady Park, two rock-circles, concentric, one
within the other, may still, in part, be seen, the one, measuring from the centre of the
inner circle uu either hand, thirty -eight feet and a half, to the verge of the outer circle,
gives a diameter of seventy-seven feet, divided thus: outer wall four feel thick, then a
circular space eighteen feet wide to the inner circle. The Second wall is four and a half
lo five feet in thickness, and the diameter of the area within is twenty-four feel. It
bad been hollowed out to a lower depth than Ihe surrounding ground. Both walls ore
neatly formed without cement, (if rough uncliissi'lc.-l Mocks uf sicuitic rock, the smooth
faces being placed within, and without having the central part filled up with the smaller
fragments, as stone walls are at present made."

120 PER AMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Chudleigh Bridge, it sweeps in front of the- stately j
Ugbrook Park, and loses the character of a moorland
Leaving the narrow vales and deep glens through which :
hitherto pursued its devious way, it now enters upon '
alluvial plains of Tcigngrace and Kingsteignton, and through t
copse and pasture, meanders, in gentler mood, along
channel to its estuary at Tcign mouth.

Leaving with reluctance this pleasing scene of alternate s
and grandeur, and descending the hill by another lane,
church-town of Bovey Tracey on the left, we shall cross the valley to uV
banks of its neighbouring tributary stream, by some called the Wert
Teign, but described by Risdon as the Bovey. Here we shall strife
upon a road skirting the common below Yamour Wood, and follow-
ing the direction of a guide-post pointing to JIauaton, shall proceed
to Becky Fall,* — a considerable cascade on the Hayne, a branch of the
Bovey river, which we shall find by turning out of the road on the
left, and repairing to the stream in the wood nearly opposite lo
Lustleigh Cleave, about a mile from Manaton. When the river is ;
diminished by summer droughts, nor impoverished to ium^h v
power for some adjacent works, it rolls down in a fine foamy v
over a succession of rock stages, about seventy-five feet in height,
top to bottom. The fall is thickly overshadowed with foliage, a
general effect is pleasing and characteristic of a moorland I
But if the tourist should he disappointed in his expectations, and find
an insignificant rivulet trickling down through the moss-cov<
rocks, he should remember that the most celebrated waterfalls i
Lake country, arc subject to the same contingency. Lodore, a
head of Derweiitwater, whose " splashing, and flashing, and d
and crashing," has been sung in echoing numbers, by a
often be visited, when in the tamed and duninished streai
sanguine admirer of Southcy would be at utter fiiult in discovi
"how the water comes down from Lodore" in all the than
magnificence of wintry streams or summer torrents, at
represented in the simulative strains of the sportive muse.

Leaving Becky Fall and proceeding up the hill side, S.11

p, and find
ss -covered
alls in the
are, at the
idaihinc.
rcatc, wdl
ream, the
iscovering

MANATON CIRCLMVALLATION.

121

shall notice a dilapidated cairn, with a trackway, bearing in some
places the appearance of an imperfect avenue, or parallelithon, coming
upward* N.E. from the valley, and ending, after a course which can
be traced two hundred and forty yards, in the cairn above. We shall
here find ourselves on a moorland road leading from Heytor to
Manaton, and returning towards the Latter place, we shall pass the
small field on the right hand, where the singular elliptical circum-
vallation mentioned in the general description, (p. 45,) will be
observed, and which will not fail to attract the attention, and repay
the inspection of the antiquary and the tourist,

Our road will now lead us through Manaton church-town,
screened from the north by a rugged tor, which rises immediately
behind it. The steeple is of less sturdy appearance than some of
our moorland towers, but in the western front, it has a massive round-
headed granite doorway, of almost Cyclopean character. "We
shill notice with satisfaction, in passing, the simple rural churchyard,
, with its well-kept turf and venerable yew, and the village green
adjoining, a pleasing accompaniment, which oue would rejoice to see
connected with every hamlet in the kingdom.

Following the road to North Bovey, we shall pass below East
Down, a detached pyramidal hill, forming a conspicuous object to all
the country round. We shall be disappointed in our search for
Dmidical relics, on this eminence, although it is plentifully strewed
"iili masses of the natural rock. Polwhele records the existence
«f » logan, formerly on this common, called the Whooping Rock,
Nt which had been wantonly moved iroin its balance, some years
"*fore that author wrote his account. He describes it as " evidently
a Druiiiical logan-stonc," and says it " has been venerated by the
tious neighbourhood, as an enchanted rock, from the time of
"» Druids to the present day."

North Bovey, at the foot of the hill, is a village of similar cha-

i Manaton, (having also its well-planted green, or Play stow, in

"""t of the church,) but with more picturesque accompaniments, in

nderings of the beautiful stream below, which we shall cross

a "IT return to Moreton. The eye rests on every object with satis-

* ct, °H, as we pass along, except on that which should form the centre

deasing rural scent; — the church and its granite tower ; but

e letter, unfortunately, has been so strangely bedaubed, as to offend

ct{T y feeling of propriety and taste, by its parti-coloiu'ed garniture.

122 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Our next excursion will cause us to retrace our steps to North
Bovey, in our way to Bowerman's Nose, btlt when about quarter of a
mile from Manaton, we shall leave that village on the left, and
crossing a tributary of the Bovey, shall mount the hill by a moor-
track, which passes over Heighen Down, in front of that remarkable
pile. Bowerman's* Nose, as it is popularly called, rises from the
brow of the headland which projects from Heytor, and the hilly
track, between the dale of Widdecombe and those of Manaton and
North Bovey. It is seen to greatest advantage, when approached
from the north by the road we are now traversing ; and is found, on
examination, to consist of five layers of granite blocks, piled by the
hand of nature, — some of them severed into two distinct masses;
the topmost stone (where I presume the nasal resemblance is traced)
being a single block. Folwhele seems to have been mistaken in cal-
culating the height at fifty feet ; it is rather less than forty above the
clatter from which it rises. Conspicuous from its position, and
remarkable for its form, it is easy to conceive that this fantastic pro-
duction of nature, might have been pointed out to an ignorant and
deluded people as the object of worship; nor is it unworthy of
remark that, viewed from below, it strongly resembles the rude
colossal idols, found by our navigators when they visited Easter Island,
in the Southern Pacific, and when seen from the south, on the higher
ground, it presents the appearance of a Hindoo idol, in a sitting
posture.

It is only on the spot, that we can duly appretiate Cairington's
graphic and faithful description,

On the very edge
Of the vast moorland, startling every eye
A shape enormous rises ! High it towers
Above the hill's bold brow, and seen from far,
Assumes the human form ; a granite god,—
To whom, in days long flown, the suppliant knee
In trembling homage bowM. The hamlets near
Have legends rude connected with the spot,
(Wild swept ty every wind,) on which he stands
The Giant of the moor.

♦ The cognomen of Bowerman, is thus accounted for by Mr. Burt. Speakrai
the pile, he says : " It is generally considered as a rock-idol, and bean the name
Bowerman's Nose, of which name there was a person in the Conqueror's time, "
lired 41 Hountor, or Anndtor, in Manaton." Note* to CAmaiHGTOw's Dartmoor,

r>

«

L

*»>

HEYTOlt BOCK.

Among the unnumbered shapes, which,

pqet so truly

*ings,

vagety form'd, — fantastic, vast,
i; desert throng, —
Bowerman's tor will always occupy a position of highest rank, for its
natural conformation, and for the legendary recollections
with which it is associated.

Among the numerous masses by which the hill-side is plentifully
strewn, may be observed one, so well suited for the purposes of a
logan-stonc, that very little artificial adaptation would be required to
impart to it considerable vibratory motion. A trackline connects the
tor with another tor, southward, on the same hill. Front this head-
land we look down npon Manaton, and observe immediately below,
the Cyclopean elliptical inclosure, near it, as already described.

Leaving the height, and proceeding southward, we shall soon
enter the Ashburton Road, and passing through a moor-gate, shall
not foil to remark a lofty tor on the left, the north front of which
the appearance of a mimic castellated building, with two
■jeering bastions. On closer examination, we shall find it to
be Houndtor, one of the most interesting of the tors on the moor.
The top of the bill is flanked by two colossal walls piled up of huge
granite masses, sixty, eighty, and in some places, probably, a hundred
feet high, with an open space between, forming an esplanade where
Titan sentinels might have paced along, or rebel giants might have
held a council of war. Returning from Houndtor, about a furlong S.,
I pass the kistvaen described above, (p. 85,) and follow the
Ashburton Road until at the foot of Rippon Tor, where a road
to the left, which wilt soon bring us to lleytor, — which,
from its commanding position on the south-eastern frontier of the
moor, — at the head of a wide expanse of declivities which slope
directly down to the level country, (through which the great mail-
roods, from Exeter to Plymouth, pass by Totnes and Ashburton,
in full view of the tor for many miles,) is probably more generally
known and admired than any other of its granite kindred of the
wmle. lleytor rises from the brow of the hill with sombre grandeur,
in two distinct piles ; and when viewed from the neighbourhood
of Kingsteignton, and other adjacent, lowlands, under the influence
of a sullen and cloudy sky, presents a singularly accurate resemblance

124 PERAMBULATION OF DA&TMOOR.

to a ruined castle, the massive keep of which, is represented by the
eastern pile. On the top is a rock-basin, two feet and a half in
diameter, but much less perfect than Mistor Pan and many others.

We shall now find ourselves amidst the " sights and sounds" so
eloquently described by Howitt.* And if our visit can be so timed,
we mav even realize the characteristic accidents which will not fail
to enhance the intrinsic loveliness of the scene. Here are "the
wild thickets and half-shrouded faces of rock ; — the tors standing in
the blue air in sublime silence, the heather and bilberry on either
hand showing that cultivation has never disturbed the soil they grew
in;" and here too, perchance, "one sole woodlark from the far-
ascending forest on the right, filling the wide solitude with his wild
autumnal note." We shall look with eager interest for that "one
lax^e solitarv house in the valley beneath the woods," which he has
commemorated ; and contemplating the manifold variety before us,
of rock and mountain, flood and fell, wood and meadow, busy towns
and silent wastes, the level flat of Bovey Heathfield and the beetling
steeps of Dartmoor, the placid estuary of the Teign and the wide
expanse of ocean seen over the rock-bound coast stretching far away
to the misty verge of the southern horizon, — shall enter into the
feelings which he has thus enthusiastically recorded. " So fair, so
silent, save for the woodlark % s note and the moaning river, so un-
earthly did the whole scene seem, that my imagination delighted to
look upon it as fairy land." t

At the foot of the western pile of this conspicuous tor, we shall
observe a trackway, running from south-east to north-west, intersected
at the extremity by another, tending to the converse points of the
compass, and discernible to the extent of two hundred and forty
varus. I he adjacent commons abound with similar remains of track-
way* and tracklines. One of these, of very marked character, comes
down the hill from Kippon Tor. and crossing both the Bovey and
the Ashburtoa Road, mav be traced about two miles. We shall also
notice many hut-circle*, and other vestiges of aboriginal occupancy.
One of the circles tuav be specified, consisting of eighteen stones
eloM-A placed, forming a circumference of seventv-five feet
* oiling the winding course of the trackline mentioned above, we

• ** l^v. *, .V . Ho. itt-, A«/ W , # Smgiamt9 ToL ^ p . 379.

NORTH AND EAST-QUARTER BOUNDARY.

125

shall find ourselves on the high road to Chagford, which we shall
follow, retracing our steps to the moor-gate, near Iloundtor, and
leaving Bowerman'a Nose on the right, shall return towards Morcton,
below East Down, on the western side, and passing Bector Cross, —
(the time-worn cross itself stands in an adjoining field,) — shall enter
the town by the Plymouth and Tavistock Road.

Our next excursion will lead us along that road until we reach
ihe fifth mde-stonc from Moreton. Here a group of interesting
remains will attract our attention. One of the most prominent is a
circle, or pound, two hundred and forty yards in circumference,
inclosing two hut- circles. Three branches of trackways will be
observed in connexion with this inclosure. One may be traced
S.S.YV",, passing from the c ire um variation to the valley below. Ano-
ther, beginning at the circle, is lost in the boggy hollows beneath,
but reappears on the opposite hill, and crosses the turnpike. Nearly
parallel with the last, another fine proceeds also from the circle, and
is lost on the opposite slope, after crossing the high road, about a
furlong west of the former.

"We have now returned to a point where we have the means
of ascertaining the course of the antient perambulation. We have
arrived at the bounds of the East Quarter, which joins the North at
Wotcsbrook Lake foot, described in the original perambulation as
Hilling into the Teign ; and which was thought by the Perambulators,
Who made their survey in the reign of James I.,* to be the same as
the stream then called "Whoodelake. There, they accounted the
North Quarter to end, one mile from Hingstone, or Highstone, near
Fenwortby Hedges, t As the boundary proceeds from thence in a
straight line to the stream which rises below the cairn-crested hill,
called King's Oven, where it makes an angle, and then holds on in a
direct line to King's Oven, we have in that well-known spot, and
in Fenworthy, two ascertained points, between which we shall be able
to trace the hounds of the East Quarter without danger of material
error. In Broadmoor Mires wc shall probably find the "turbary of
Aherheve,"; or Aberheeved, "the fennye place, now called Turfehill"

" xvi. Aug., 6 James I., A.D. 1609.

t Called bjthe aforesaid Peramtiululnrs, Feraworlhie Hedges. Tho inclosure* of
Fenworiuy have therefore been evidently of lotiB standing.

" In the root of this word, wo have an instance of Ihe inlient British prefix Aber,
ion in Wales and Scotland.

unnvithui.b

126 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

by the aforesaid Perambulators, and in " King's Oven " on the hill
above, Surt Regis, (which seems to be a strange misprint for Furaum
Regis,) in Risdon's copy of the original document. But we must again
forsake the guidance of the Perambulators, and return to the scene
of our recent investigations, with Warren Tor, on the right.

Diverging from the high road, and mounting the hill southward,
we shall notice many other vestiges of hut-circles and tracklines,
in our way over Shapely Common. Passing the tor on the summit,
we shall turn to observe the fine expanse of country which lies
behind us, stretching away to the Exmoor range on the north. Taking
the tors for our landmarks, we shall now keep a southward course,
and make for Hooknor, the nearest tor in that direction, as this will
probably be our best guide for finding Grimspound, (which will be
our next object,) should our means of locomotion enable us to disre-
gard the accommodation of roads. But if otherwise, the tourist will
find it more convenient to proceed by the turnpike (instead of
leaving it as above) to Vitifer mine, near a small inn by the way side,
about six miles from Moreton. Here a carriage can be put up, and
he will find himself about two miles from the object of his search,
which appears on the slope of the lofty ridge, terminating the
prospect eastward. A tolerable road to the stamping mills in the
valley below, will be our best course from this point. In the angle
between this road and the turnpike, we shall notice an antient granite
cross, near the boundary of the parishes of Lydford and Chagford,
standing erect in its original position, but time-worn and weather-
beaten, with the storms of centuries. The modern letters, W. B., are
graven on the shaft.

Leaving this venerable relic of medieval times, on the left, we
proceed eastward, and cross the springs of the West Webburn near
the source. The water-power thus furnished is rendered subservient
to the mining operations in the valley below South-stone Common.
A path east from the mine, leads us still eastward over Challa-
combe Down, where we shall notice many deep excavations and other
remains of antient mines. On the saddle of Challacombe Down,
with Grimspound immediately opposite, we shall cross, at right angles,
an important parallelithon, or stone avenue,* running north and south,

* First noticed by Mr. John Prideaox, twenty years since, but apparently remain-
ing in the same state, at the present time.

liRIMSPOUND.

127

mucli wider than these at Longstone and Merivale, although the
stones are of the same size and character. But unlike those, the
Challacombe avenue has a third line of stones, so that instead of a
single aisle, a double one is formed. The line of avenue may be
traced clearly to the extent of eighty yards, terminating towards Birch
tor on the south, and on the north, lost in an old stream-work.

By a steep descent, we shall reach the vale of ChaHacombc,
where the origin of the local designation will be observed at a glance,
and its significance manifested in this secluded nook, hollowed out of
the acclivities of surrounding hills. This coombe, which opens
pleasantly to the south, is watered by another spring of the West
Webburn, and presents a pleasing proof of successful cultivation,
under favourable circumstances, in the heart of the moor.

But Grimspound is now before ue, as we mount the southern
slope, below Hooknor tor. From this point of view, on the north
side of the circumvallation, the sketch for the accompanying illus-
tration of this most remarkable relic of aboriginal antiquity, was
kithfiilly and felicitously made. A general description has been
ilieady given (p. 44) of this venerable specimen of a primitive
British town, fortified by a strong wall, and containing numerous
remains of antient dwellings within its Cyclopean bulwark. The
hrge stone represented in the print, on the eastern side of the
circle, marks the spot where the spring rises, and from whence,
beneath the foundations of the wall, as already described, it flows,
Doci the name of Grimslake, to join the Webburn. After a dry
Spring, and a whole month of continuous hot weather immediately
preceding, I have found, at Midsummer, a clear and copious stream
"wing immediately from the source ; so that it would appear, under
ordinary circumstances, the inhabitants would have been always
"Efficiently supplied with pure and wholesome water. The classical
lnv csti (Tutor will probably be disappointed at not finding in Grims-
pound the characteristics of an antient British town, defended by
"nods, swamps and thickets, as described by Caesar, in his account
°f the fortified post occupied by Cassivelaunus, where a large body
°f persons and herds of cattle might be congregated in security.
But without raising the question, whether, when Grimspound was
originally built, these naked declivities might not have been clothed
*ith wood, as some suppose, the present natural circumstances might

128

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

suffice to account for the different kind of castrametation, exl
in the stronghold of that valiant British prince." The i
Britons, on the banks of the Thames, had not the same advai
in point of materials, as their Danmonian compatriots
the granite blocks and bowlders of Dartmoor, from which au
effectual circumvallation could be speedily formed ; to which those
aboriginal engineers appear to have deemed it unnecessary to add
the further protection of a fosse, since Grimspound is totally unpro-
vided with any kind of ditch, or additional outwork, beyond its single
rampart.

This is a feature of much significance, and should be duly
regarded in our endeavours to ascertain the period of the erection of
this rude but venerable fortress. The rampart is doubtless nmtli
lower than it was originally built, but unlike many of the i-ulht of
our hill-forts and earthworks, it has not been tampered with, box
the original design altered by successive occupants. Sir It. Hone
furnishes us with an important axiom in archaeology, which may be
legitimately applied in determining with proximate accuracy, at lea&t,
the aira of the erection of Grimspound. " In examining those
earth-works, we must endeavour to discriminate the work <
people who constructed them; and wherever we find very i
and elevated ramparts, and deep ditches, with advanced t
such as Bratton, Battlesbury, Scratchbury, Yarnbury, Chidbui
Barbury, Oldbury, &c, we may, without hesitation, attribui
camps to the Belgic, or Saxon rera; for neither the Britons not
Romans had recourse to strong ramparts." f

But whilst, to many, the evidence of the existence of an i
ginal town at Grimspound appears conclusive, there are not v,
those who, in this venerable monument of past ages, can trace other
objects than those which have been above assigned. Where history
is silent, and monumental evidence disputable, an ample field is
opened for theory and speculation. Some have discovered in this
relic, a colossal temple of the Sun. Polwhele, who imag
antient Danmonium to have been divided into six cantrca
circuits, observes, "that Grimspound was the seat of judi

* Fosbroke, misled by Lysons, describes " Grimspound, in Dcvonthirc, u ■□
inclosure, blIu&Ic in a mari/t." Encjf. Antiq., p. 77.
t Ant. WiUt., yoI. U., p. 108.

AS HUM
k of the

■:;::

hidburt,

■
tons sot

an abori-
twtntmg

11AM1LIJ0.V BEACON.

1S9

for the cautred of Durius, is no improbable supposition." * It lb
true that the Gorscddau, discovered by Pennant, in Anglesca, and
described by him as the Bryn Gwyn, or royal tribunal of the Aich-
tlruid, appears to have been similarly constructed, in some respects,
being a circular hollow, surrounded by a vallum of earth and stones,
but forming a circle of not more than one hundred and eighty feet in
diameter, whereas Grimspound covers an area of nearly four acres,
an extent totally incompatible with purposes that might be conve-
niently accomplished in an amphitheatre whose circumference was less
than six hundred feet. But to whatever conclusion the investigator
may be led, as to the people by whom this marvel of the moor was
constructed, or the objects contemplated in its erection, he will not
return from his examination of Grimspound, without being convinced
that he has inspected one of the oldest monuments of our island ;
whilst the mystery in which its origin is shrouded, and the appear-
ance of hoar antiquity with which its gigantic rampart is invested,
•ill add interest to his speculations, and deepen his recollections of
tins ertraordinary, if not unique, relic of aboriginal times.

But no isolated examination of Grimspound, or speculation on
ih origin and purposes, will be satisfactory or complete, without
faience to the other remains of primitive antiquity, existing in the
immediate neighbourhood, and without due consideration of their
pliable bearings upon the question.

Cairns are numerous on the adjacent downs and hills. We shall
find [hem on King Tor, north, and Hamildon Tor, east of Grims-
pound. Hamildon, the Saddleback of Devonshire, rises majestically
be stronghold, in a long bold ridge, and on its lofty eminence,
*e »hall observe Hamildon beacon, commanding a vast extent of
wintry, in all directions, and admirably adapted for the conspicuous
"l* of a signal-flame to alarm the country, or for kindling the
wltine-fire, in the celebration of those Druidkal rites in the month
°> May, t of which the bonfire was an essential feature. Mounting
"w hill, we shall come upon the grand central trackway above

' Huiorical Fiewi of Devon, p. 20.

t llur Dluidiotl year commented at Ihe beginning; of M»y, and a principal feast
*« Bade, «nd a InrgB boniire kindled in Commino ration of the telurn of warmth and
'■' *fe Tin [rub call Ihe month of May Btttine. or Belus" fire. Fobbboke, Ency.
*J**., p. 5J8. ll is worthy of remark, that anions many other iintient and expressive
>u, il retained in. Our vernacular, the terra tins, <" *'*dlt ajtame, is a till preserved.

130

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

described, (p, 4C,) and from this elevated position shall ha*
opportunity of observing the direction it takes, and the probable
relation which such constructions have to the autient mining work*
in the neighbourhood, aud to those of the moor generally.

In the general description of this trackway, reference has been
made to the authority of the Rev. J. H. Mason, a cautious and
practical antiquary, whose long and intimate acquaintance with the
topography, history, and traditions of the moor, entitle his views to
the greatest respect, whatever difference of opinion may exist, ■
to his conclusions, from the facts which he has industriously colli ■ t, il
When, therefore, he inclines rather to regard these curious vestiges
of antiquity as boundaries than as roads, I am anxious to pBHtn
his observations on a subject of much local and antiquarian interest,
as invaluable data, which might otherwise be lost to those who would
gladly have recourse to the testimony of a competent observer, in
endeavouring to solve an aichrological problem of no little difficulty.

The point in our perambulation, at which we have now arrived
is peculiarly suitable for investigating the subject under consideration,
Hamildou and its immediate neighbourhood, having been the prin-
cipal scene of examination, with immediate reference to the track-
ways and tracklines, or, rather, division- lines, as they are termed bv
an antiquarian friend * of Mr. Mason's, who had referred to him on
the subject, and to whom he replies in a communication, which
appeared in a provincial paper. "There is no chance," VlftH
Mr. Mason, " of my being able to ascertain the height af iln
boundary-lines ; they are now, I fear, in every part, razed to the
ground. I have reason to believe, from the inquiries I have since
made, that one of the boundary-lines you saw, (that on Hwncl
Down,) went to Crockern Tor, and from thence on to the common
adjoining Roborougb Down; if so, it divided Dartmoor, and murt
have extended from twelve to fourteen miles, There is a barrow on
Peek Hill, near Walkhampton, where the boundary-line is now to Ik
traced." On this Mr. Northmore remarks, "the whole line being
from E.N.E. to S.W., and Dartmoor being thus divided into two

• Thomas Northmurc, Esq., Inn; of Cleeve, near Exeter, who, in ■
nddreased lo Hie Editor of Besteu's Sutler Newt. trots, ill lamo length, of these lii'moo-
lines, nnd refers lo the researches of Mr. Mnson mid others. His letters »ppeirri»
1825. and, with some other imporlunt documenla, have been obliginglj put taM my li*" 1
by Mr Mason, for the purposes of ihi* work.

ANTIENT TIX BOUNDS.

131

almost equal parts, the north and south divisions," — a distinction still
traditionally recognised, as has been already noticed in the general
description.

In the same correspondence occur the following remarks, by the

Ber. EL P. Jones.' "The dykes, or trackways, have been traced

tin? uncultivated parts of the parishes of Manaton t and

imbC] over Hamildon, and from thence across Dartmoor.

They generally run in a straight direction, nearly parallel, and arc

i to seven feet in breadth. They are formed of large stones,

nud are raised above the level of the ground, and are frequently lost

in bogs. In the inclosed country they cannot be traced, the stones

having been removed. Two of these dykes have been traced out ;

one terminates at Crockcrn Tor, and the other about two miles distant,

H Waydon Tor, on Dartmoor. They extend for about ten miles. On

Hamildun they are not above half a mile from each other, and in the

neighbourhood arc several cairns, barrows, and circles."

"In tracing the northernmost reaee* from Hamildon," writes

on, " we lost it in a tin-work. The western end was, some

time after, discovered towards Newhouse, emerging as it were, from

* wall, the boundary of the Courtenay property." Mr. Mason adds

itioo of great pertinence. "Are not these reaves, as they

I il, the work of the tinners.' Omne ignotum pro magnified.

Kb bounds have been brought down from an early period, and

dusted by working tinners over property belonging to others. The

estate of Fcnworthy has, in my recollection, taken in a very large

tccording to an antient tin-bound, admitted at Lydford Castle

W ihe reign of" Elizabeth. In the neigh hour hood of Gidleigh,

nt time curate of ihe neighbouring pnrish of North Bovey, a gentleman whu
unities fur eiamtng this quarter of the moor, and who is writ-
known in tiio scientific world for his valuable pub licalions on the Botany of Dartmoor
«J the rieintty.

t One of these is probably the tracklinc before described, where the mural ctrn-
r*cl« was so striking that, at a distance, il might be ciisily mistaken for a dilapidated
new-take wall.

[ This Is the term by which these lines are universally known among the moormen.

Jta*r Is a tentacular term commonly used in Devonshire in describe row*, or courses.

earth, or other substance, raised b any ridge -I ike shape. Sometimes it lake»

l»e tunn of roare. which expresses the snme tiling. Wmd-rrma, orroava, arerow*

tf hay, hurley, or oats, raked together in ridges, in harvest operations. This is, probably,

i 001 salient Teutonic language. Her/, in Icelandic, is roqf; and hi (he

■ I'-like fiiriii. nt' I In- .i In . -, rii:i_v )iussil.]y Im ii;ii-i'.l the nricitin] idea conveyed

■ il.ir I. nil rtane. A ree/ of rocks is probably derived from the same source.

i be inaptly remarked that the old word, reaver, (Ang. San. rtaftrt,) and the

tandem rotor, are identical, so that from rrai>e to roave appears an ordinary trausiiiun.

PERAMBULATION Or DARTMOOR.

similar reaves of stone were taken to be the boundary of a f
from the crown of a considerable portion of the Forest to Giles de
Gidleigh, and the question at issue was thereby decided." *

Nothing can be more satisfactory or conclusive, than the evidence
thus adduced in favour of the existence of antient boundary-lines on
Dartmoor, constructed for marking the limits of commons, grants,
tin-bounds, and other like purposes. But if a corollary be thence
deduced, that such boundary-lines comprehend all constructions
of this kind, I cannot but venture to question, however, deferentially,
a conclusion which would militate against the distinction, drawn in
the former part of this work, between tr.icklines and trackways, —
the latter being regarded as causeways, or means of communication ;
the former, boundary-banks, dykes, or defensive lines. This dis-
tinction is fortified by the opinion of Sir R. Hoare, as it has been
already observed, who remarks that by following these trackways on
the Wiltshire downs, in more than one instance, he has been led
directly into a British village. There seems no adequate reason for
supposing that the Bclgat of Wiltshire enjoyed conveniences of this
kind which were not possessed by their Danmonian countrymen, and
that which would be legitimately inferred from the nature of the
case, seems clearly demonstrated by existing monuments. "While
the boundary or tracklines vary from three or four to seven feet in
breadth, trackways arc found fifteen and even twenty feet broad ; and
while the former are seen to partake more or less of the mound, or
vallum character, where not razed to the foundations, the track-
ways are totally destitute of all such appearance, and are merely
causeways, constructed of stone, rudely laid in the soil, and -
raised above the natural level of the country. Wc can scarcely
imagine that a line of pavement, (however rude,) twenty, or even
fifteen feet wide, and of considerable length, could ever have been
constructed for the mere purposes of demarkation. That roads, or
ridge-ways, have served as boundaries, has already been shown,
whilst the very etymology of the word demonstrates the original
design of the ridge, too obviously to admit of question.

The period when these works were constructed, is a point of far
greater difficulty. Mr. Mason connects them with antient min

■ licv. J. H. Mason, in aleitcrto the author, 1847.

"

.nUH-AHMHE VALB.

133

operations, justly remarking that " the earliest trade from this country
in tin ; the tinners were the most numerous class of working
people. That they inhabited Dartmoor and its purlieus, their
extensive works, fallen inclosures, and remains of hovels, evidently
attest. 1 * Mr. Narthmore thinks the dykes, or division-lines, may be
of high antiquity) and originally constructed for a defence against
beasts, as well as borderers ; but he adds, " I am sometimes inclined
to think them of later construction, having relation to the Normans,
■nd feudal rights and customs," and assigns as his reason for inclining
lo the latter opinion, a communication he had received from
Dr. Oliver," with an extract from King John's Charter, de liber-
latHnu Derontte, in which Mr. Northmore thinks there is evident
nlVrence to these division -lines of Dartmoor, "within which, the
people of Devon could not make their deer-leaps, or indosureB."

Having carefully examined these interesting monuments, we
shall have no difficulty in concluding that they may have been con-
nected with mining operations, and yet belong to the British period
of our history. But without pursuing these speculations further,
ind leaving the opinions which have been advanced, to be brought to
toe test of existing remains, by the practical antiquary, we shall now
descend the north-east declivity of Hamildon, below the tor, and
notice a circular inclosure called Berry Pound, much overgrown with
km and heather, but of similar construction to those already des-
cribed in other parts of the moor. Here a salient ridge, projecting
from the flank of Hamildon, throws the drainage on one side to the
fibutaries of the Teign, and on the other side to those of the
D«t and the Wcbburn. By following the latter, we shall soon
Grilse upon a lane that enters the head of Widdecombe Vale, along
*hich we shall now proceed, with the ridge of Hamildon, high on

*»ltcr Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, whilst in London during the autumn of 1320, «j
Wlloua lo examine the oricinal ..-barter of John, and applied to the Abbot, Robert
««pbell, to send it up. The Abbul intrusted it to the care of a trusty friend, and the
*<*op conceited it to bo of such, importance, that he caused il lo be copied into hia
«»Juwr. (fol. 15a,) ad plenlorem mtmoriam fulurorum. By this charter, Iho whole
'Wotyof Deion, with the exception of Exmorr and Darlmore, were di>«fToreMtd, or
"ripped of the oppressive privilege* Mtiiubed to forest*. Thr inhabitant wore even
•Wed lo hunt, inclose aud impark, ' infra roenrda moranim illarum.' on fulfilling the
*»«! customs; but, 'iu divisis piediclanim mi.ramm, nnn potenmt saltnloria vel hails
fitire."'

134 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

the right, forming for a considerable distance, the stupendous rampart
of the valley on the western side. Here the tourist will observe the
most perfect counterpart in our western peninsula, of one of the
lovely dales of Westmorland or Cumberland, and the antiquary will
find two logan-rocks as he proceeds, within half a mile of Widde-
combe church-town. Both are still moveable. The Rugglestone, as
it is called, in the neighbourhood, is an immense oblong rock, of
which, as I learn, on the authority of the Rev. J. H. Mason, the
computed weight is one hundred and ten tons. This huge mass
rests on the supporting rocks beneath, so as to form a combination
of the cromlech character. Its sides measure respectively about
twenty-two, nineteen, seventeen, and fourteen feet ; in mean thick-
ness it is about five feet six inches. The other logan, is a flat stone,
about eleven feet in length by nine in breadth, but not more than
fourteen or sixteen inches thick ; which can be set in motion by the
pressure of the foot.

The dale expands about midway to make room for the pleasant
knoll, on which the village and church are built, the " cynosure of
neighbouring eyes." The lofty granite tower is finely proportioned,
embattled, and finished with crocketted pinnacles. The name of
this sequestered sanctuary is permanently associated in local history
with one of the most awful and sublime, and the same characteristic
accompaniments of moorland scenery — the thunder-storm. Moreton
has been called the land of thunder, and such terrific storms as that
which recently took place, when the greatest alarm was occasioned
and considerable damage was done by the lightning, abundantly
justify the appellation. But the skirts of the moor generally, from
their mountainous character, are subject to these terrific "skiey
influences ;" and Widdecombe, with the mighty ridge of Hamildon

•

on one side, and the lofty crest of Rippon Tor on the other, to
gather and arrest the thunder-cloud, must be peculiarly exposed to
such occasional visitations. Hence, probably, the appalling out-
break of that awful storm, the terrors of which are traditionally -
recorded,* after the lapse of more than two centuries.

♦ One of the legends connected with the storm at Widdecombe, used to rivet the
attontion, and to excite the terrors of my childhood. The tale passed current, thai
cither a thunderbolt or a terrific minister of wrath in an unearthly form, was pent tc
inflict condign vengeance on one who was presumptuously playing at cards, in his pew
by dashing him against the moorstone pillar, where the bloody evidence of his guilt ant

THUNDER-STORM AT WIDDECOMBE. 135

Oft the swain,
When deeply falls the winter night, narrates
To his own rustic circle, seated near
The peat-pil'd hearth, how in th' involving cloud
Tremendous, flashing forth unusual fires
Was wrapt the House of Prayer ; — thy sacred fame
Romantic Widdecombe ! The village bard,
In simple verse, that time has kindly spar'd,
Has sung it ; and in style uncouth,
The pious rural annalist has penn'd
The fearful story. — Carrington.

The village bard/ and the pious rural annalist thus comme-
morated, were Richard Hill, schoolmaster, and the Rev. George
Lyde, vicar of the parish, as we learn from Prince, author of the
Worthies of Devon, who, in his memoir of Mr. Lyde, embodies an
account of this awful tempest ("the chief ground," he observes,
"of my inserting him here") in the quaint and characteristic style
of the age.

"In the year of our Lord, 1638, October 21, being Sunday,

***<! the congregation being gathered together in the parish church

of Wydecombe, in the afternoon, in service time, there happened a

very great darkness, which still increased to that degree, that they

^uld not see to read : soon after, a terrible and fearful thunder was

*teard, like the noise of so many great guns; accompanied with

^eadful lightning, to the great amazement of the people; the

c * a *knes8 still increasing, that they could not see each other, when

^fcre presently came such an extraordinary flame of lightning, as

***lfcd the church with fire, smoak, and a loathsome smell, like brim-

^Ue ; a ball of fire came in likewise at the window and passed thro'

^*fc church, which so affrighted the congregation, that most of them

e " down in their seats; some upon their knees, others on their

^^s, and some one upon another, crying out of burning and scald-

***{?, and all giving themselves up for dead. There were in all, four

J/^Uhment, as it was believed, remained for a considerable period. The original^of this
^~8*Hd seems to be recorded by Prince. " Another man had his head cloven, his skull
^^nt into three pieces, and his brains thrown upon the ground whole ; but the hair of his

**d, through the violence of the blow, stuck fast to a pillar near him, where it remained
^oful spectacle a long while after.
* Mr. Hill's verses, recording the particulars of this awful tempest, are inscribed

11 * votive tablet for that purpose.

1S6 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

persons killed, and sixty-two hurt, divers of them having their linen
burnt, tho' their outward garments were not so much as singed. * * *
The church itself was much torn and defaced with the thunder and
lightning ; a beam whereof, breaking in the midst, fell down between
the minister and clerk, and hurt neither. The steeple was much
wrent ; and it was observed where the church was most torn, there
the least hurt was done among the people. There were none hurted
with the timber or stone, but one man, who it was judged, was
killed by the fall of a stone ; which might easily happen, since stones
were thrown down from the steeple, as fast as if it had been by an
hundred men." *

The " village bard's," commemorative verses, inscribed st on a
votive tablet, for that purpose ordained" in the church, also contained,
according to the same authority, " a brief history of what then hap-
pened, in large verse, consisting of seven feet ; too tedious to be
here inserted, though they thus begun :"

" In token of our thanks to God, this table is erected,

Who, in a dreadful thunder-storm, our persons then protected."

With Rembrandt touch, Carrington has skilfully heightened
the effect of his graphic delineation of this fearful catastrophe,
by bringing into striking, but natural contrast, the calm and security
of a rural sabbath-day — with the sudden burst of the lowering
thunder-cloud, gathering blackness, and standing out in sublimer
terrors, from the light and loveliness of the preceding scene.

Far o'er hill and dale,
Their summons glad the sabbath bells had flung :
From hill and dale obedient they had sped
Who heard the holy welcoming ; and now
They stood above the venerable dead
Of centuries, and bow'd where they had bow'd
Who slept below. The simple touching tones
Of England's psalmody upswell'd, and all,
With lip and heart united, loudly sang
The praises of the Highest But anon

♦ Prince's Worthies of Devon, 4to., p. 570. London, 1810.

NORTH HALL, WIDDECOMBE. 137

Harah mingling with that minstrelsy, was heard
The fitful blast: — the pictur'd windows shook —
Around the aged towY the rising gale
Shrill whistled ; and the antient massive doors
Swung on their jarring hinges. Then — at once —
Fell an unnatural calm, and with it came
A fearful gloom, deepening and deep'ning till
'Twas dark as night's meridian ; for the cloud
Descending had within its bosom wrapt
The feted dome. At first a herald flash
Just chas'd the darkness and the thunder spake,
Breaking the strange tranquillity. But soon
Pale horror reign'd — the mighty tempest burst
In wrath appalling ; — forth the lightning sprang
And death came with it, and the living writh'd
In that dread flame-sheet.

But the curious antiquary will endeavour, with no little interest,
to trace, at the antient manor-house of North Hall, adjoining the
churchyard, evidences of the accuracy of the rural chronicler's faith-
fulness of description, in such vestiges of its former importance, as
time and change may have spared; bearing in mind, as Prince
quaintly remarks of Hill, that his " history may be good, though his
poetry be but indifferent." And since there are not many villages
that can boast the honours of local minstrelsy, and Prince's work is
too bulky, to be generally accessible, I make no apology for inserting
the metrical description of this venerable moorland mansion, with its
means and appliances for defence, and delectation, traces of which
s fll remain.

The messuage there, which antiently

Was chief or capital,
Tho' much deca/d, remaining still,

Is called yet North-hall :
Whereas the houses, courtlages,

With gardens, orchards, and
A stately grove of trees within

That place did sometime stand,
Were all enclosed round about

With moats of standing water,
So that no thieves or enemies

Could enter in to batter

138 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

The houses, walla, roofs, windows, or

What else besides was there ;
The moats or trenches being fed

With streams of water clear,
Wherein good store of fish was bred,

As antient men did say ;
The rnin'd banks whereof remain

Unto this very day.
And when the family within

Would walk into the town,
Or else return, a draw-bridge firm

They presently let down ;
And at their pleasure drew it up

To keep the household safe —
This house did antieutly belong

To Raph, the son of Raph,
So is he named in a deed

Of much antiquity,
Which bears no date for at that time

Was less iniquity.

Leaving Widdecombe — a smiling oasis in the desert — with all
its natural attractions and olden associations, we shall proceed east-
ward, by a road which mounts the hill in the direction of Heytor
and Bippon Tor, where we shall again find ourselves among the
ruder monuments of unrecorded antiquity, on the slopes of Torrhill,
or Taptor, as I find it is sometimes called. This is the hill which is
described above (p. 47) as having its eastern declivity partitioned
into antient rectangular inclosures, by tracklines or boundary-banks.
Circular inclosures also occur on the Widdecombe side.

From Torrhill, in our way to Eippon Tor, we shall cross the
high road to Ashburton, and notice, near the trackway, or boundary-
line, already described, two hut-circles, one thirty feet in diameter,
and the other eighteen. Within the latter are stones having the
appearance of a dilapidated kistvaen,* but in no other instance have
I seen a kistvaen, within a circular foundation, whose dimensions
would admit of a superstructure with a roof; this would seem,
therefore, to have been erected not as a fence to inclose a sepulchre
of the dead, but as a house for the abode of the living.

• Col. Smith thought it might have been a sort of store-place for domestic purposes.

i. 159

We shall now scale the rocky summit of Rippon Tor, which,

Recording to De la Beche, rises to the height of fifteen hundred and

forty-nine feet, but which, from its frontier position, has been often

i io approach more nearly to <an equality with the loftiest

points of the Dartmoor range. The prospect, taking in the greater

part of the South Hams, as well as a considerable extent to the

p of bill country northward, is magnificent,

hut embraces so much that has been already viewed from Hcytor,

as not to call for more specific detail. The tor itself has nothing

lumciently remarkable to detain us, after we are satisfied with the

charms of the landscape ; we shall therefore turn westwards, and

following the sloping crest of the hill, shall find ourselves, about a

quarter of a mile from the top, in the midst of a number of scattered

moon tone masses, among which the logan-rock, figured in the

accompanying print, forms a prominent and curious object. This

logan, is popularly known by the name of the Nutcrackers. It mea-

sixteen feet and a half in length, about four feet and a half in

. ,md nearly the same in breadth. It is extremely difficult to

imagine the position of the superincumbent mass to have been purely

Dtnl, although it might possibly have been thus singularly placed

nian convulsion. Its logging power appears to have been

destroyed, in some unpardonable frolic, from mere wantonness.

Returning to the road near a little wayside alehouse, where

ihultrr, if not entertainment, for man and horse may be found, we

How the highway, and soon enter the inclosed country with

■ 1 beacon on the right. We shall next notice the rugged
Answell Rock above the plantations, also on the right, with

which, should we have time to climb the summit, we shall be much

■ I. looking directly down, as it docs, upon the sylvan magni-
; Koine Chase. We shall retire from this glimpse of some

*f the loveliest woodland scenery in the west, with a full deter-
to return for a more leisurely inspection, and proceed to
A'b'jurton, where the tourist will find every accommodation he may

In leaving Ashburton for our next excursion, on the right hand

«de of North-street, in an old house, may be noticed a good arched

of timber in the Perpendicular style, with the square flower

* the hollow, all round the arch. We shall proceed by the Holne

140 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

road, as far as Holne Bridge, (which, here crosses the Dart in the
midst of beautiful wood scenery,) and leaving it on the left, shall
trace the course of the river upwards, by a charming drive, which
will take us immediately below Answell Bock, and through a suc-
cession of fine woods and plantations, belonging to Mrs. Bastard,
of Buckland House, with Holne Chase full in view on the opposite
side of the Dart. The banks of the river, in many parts, rise into
steep acclivities, — bold cliffs occasionally project from amidst the rich
and varied foliage with which the sides of the hills are fringed, and
the windings of the stream present successive points of wood, rock,
and river scenery, often grand, and always charming. The little
rural church of Buckland-in-the-Moor, stands high on the eastern
bank. Below, the two branches of the Webburn form one united
stream at the southern extremity of the vale of Widdecombe, which
running between Buckland and Spitchwick,* falls into the Dart, in
Holne Chase, about a mile below Newbridge, in sight of which we
shall diverge from the river side, and follow the road to the moors,
with Leigh Tor on the right. On entering again on the commons,
the road passes very near Beltor, which presents no object worthy
of particular remark. Sharpitor, or Sharptor, rises grandly above
the river, and will well repay a visit to its craggy summit ; but our
attention here will be chiefly directed to a group of aboriginal relics,
which will be noticed near a moorland farm, called Rowbrook. On
the right of the road, on the western slope of the hill, is a remarkably
perfect hut-circle, twenty-four feet in diameter, with a door-jamb erect,
three feet high. From this circle, a trackline, or boundary-bank, is
carried down the hill and connects the hut with the foundation of a>
rectangular inclosure, forty-two feet by eleven, formed of the same
materials and in the same manner as the hut-circle ; but whilst the
circular form is found in every part of the moor, the rectangular i*
of exceedingly rare occurrence. Below the road, and nearer the?
river, just above the Eastcombe cottage, is a very fine circular foun-
dation, of large dimensions, and of a very interesting description^
being, at least, thirty-eight feet in diameter, and having walls six feet
in thickness. The door-jamb is of unusual size, five feet high an A
six wide ; and the whole ruin is in much finer preservation than any
of the smaller hut-circles.

* The seat of the late Lord Ashburton.

141

Yartor is one of the tors which should not be passed by, without
a visit, presenting, as it docs, the appearance of a hill fortified by the
engineering of Nature herself. On the north and south are two
courses, or walls, of natural rock. The western side has a low rude
fence formed of granite blocks, and the eastern has a similar breast-
work, though less perfect, and somewhat in advance of the parallel
courses on the other sides of the tor. The whole conformation pre-
sents a rude but grand inclosure, suggesting the idea of a Cyclopean
hill-fort, or of a natural temple admirably adapted to the wild and
mystic rites of a dark, superstitious religion. The remains of some
hut-circles, and the ruins of a kistvaen, the cover-stone of which is
about five feet by three, will be observed N.E. from the tor.

In the vale below, the East Dart will be seen sweeping round
the foot of Yartor hill, in its progress to join the western branch of
the river at Dartmeet, where the confluence takes place, and where
also is the junction of the three parishes of Widdecombe, Holne,
and Lydford. Here we also meet again the Forest bounds, and find
them well-defined by the watercourses of the Wallabrook * and the
Dart. The last point noticed in the line of perambulation was
King's Oven, (p. 126,) From thence an imaginery line marked the
boundary of the East Quarter to AVallabrook, or Wcllabroke Head,
" and soc along by Wallebrooke," say the Perambulators, " until it
fall into Easter Dart," at a short distance north of Yartor foot. The
East Dart then becomes the limit of the Forest, and of the parish
of Lydford to the confluence, at Dartmeet. The scenery here is
varied and interesting ; the fine reach of the Dart, — the noble slope
and mural crown of Yartor, — the wildncss of the moor contrasted
with the plantations and inclosures of Brimps, rising immediately
above the bridge, — all combine to attract and arrest the tourist's
attention. An aboriginal Cyclopean bridge similar to that at Post-
bridge, formerly spanned the stream, but is reported to have been
■wept away, not many years since, by an inundation of the Dart.

Crossing the bridge, we shall proceed by the turnpike road,
leaving the line of perambulation, which follows the course of the
\\ i ■■;(: Dart up the valley. Below Huckaby Tor, (which presents
nothing remarkable,) we shall diverge from the main road leading to

■ One of the ni

!■; kaowo by Iba! n

142 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Two Bridges, and proceed by the Holne road on the left, which
winds down through the little moorland hamlet of Huckaby, to the
river's bank again, in the midst of interesting border scenery. Here
we cross the Dart at Hexworthy Bridge, and wind up the hill on the
opposite side. Looking back over the valley of the Dart, we shall
observe the river making a fine sweep round the common, rising
boldly from the brink. We follow the road about a mile, and just
before reaching Saddle Bridge, which crosses a rivulet called Old-
brook, or Wobrook, flowing from Skaur Gut, shall notice a group
of trackline-inclosures on the slope of the hill, immediately above
the road on the right. Here we again touch the Forest bounds, at
the point of junction of the East and South quarters.

Having crossed Saddle Bridge, and advanced on the road about
one hundred yards, we shall notice, on the right, a remarkable relic,
constructed of materials like the circular inclosures in other parts of
the moor, and presenting a similar appearance, but rectangular in
form. Ruins of the wall to the height of five feet remain, where the
ground declines towards the rivulet. At a short distance above, on
the same declivity, will be observed the remains of a large pound-like
inclosure in good preservation. The stones of which the fence is
constructed are large, and are piled up more like walls, than those
which are generally seen. This is particularly observable at the
entrance, where, in most examples, granite slabs form the jambs ; but
in the present case, the sides of the doorway are built up, and pre-
sent less of a Cyclopean appearance. This doorway is on the east
side, and the wall remains, in some parts, not less than three feet
high. Skirting along the hollow above Oldbrook, various remains of
extensive tin-works will be noticed which may have been connected
with the buildings below.

Returning to the Holne road, we shall soon reach Cumsdon Tor,
on the left, standing on high ground, above the valley of the Dart,
and opposite Sharp Tor. Here we shall probably seek for a reputed
logan-stone in vain, nor although we scale the highest pile of the tor,
shall we find any rock-basins, to repay our search. But we gain a
commanding view of Dartmeet Bridge, and of the windings of the
river at some of the most interesting points of its moorland course.

Crossing the road, and taking a course southward from Cumsdon
Tor, we shall proceed over a wide extent of common towards Peter's

143

Boundstone, by a gentle ascent. On t
find very few monumental relics ; while those that occur, such as a
cairn, near Cumsdon Tor, another about half a mile south, and an
inclosure, fifty yards in circumference, at no great distance from the
Utter, present nothing worthy of particular remark. Cairns also are
found on the eminences at Holne Ridge and Peter's Boundstone.
Returning over Holne Lea, (a wide extent of monotonous moor
country,; we shall pass through Holne church-town, without
: g anything of especial mark to detain us at that moorland
Tillage, except the "frugal fare" for man and horse, which may
he there obtained, and will scarcely fail to be needed, after so long an
excursion over the breezy downs.

From hence out course will continue through Shuttlcford to the
road which traverses the ridge above the deep glen of the Dart, with
Hrabury Wood on the left. This will soon bring us to Hembury, or
Henbury Castle, a hill-fort of an oblong irregular form, in the
northern part of the parish of Buckfastleigh, Lysons computes the
irea inclosed by the ramparts, at about seven acres, and adds "at the
north end* is a prsctorium forty-four feet by seventeen." Prom Mr.
H. Woollcombe's examination of it, in 1840, it appears to have
renuined in the same state as when we first visited it. Henbury occu-
pies a commanding position on the wooded ridge which forms the
western bank of the Dart, between Holne Bridge and Buckfast Abbey.
Mr. W'onllcombe's description gives the following particulars. "The
ramparts are all very entire, and the ditches on the south, west, and
put of the north sides, are still deep, having been forty feet in width.
On die north and east the ground sinks so precipitously, as to form a
natural fence. These sides are now clothed with coppice, and may
perhaps have been always wooded." Hence this observant antiquary
justly infers, that Henbury may have been one of the antient British
towns surrounded by thick woods.

"The Fra^torium," Mr. Woollcombe coutinucs, "I imagine to be
of more modern construction, and it is so completely a mound of earth
m to lead me to think it might have been raised there in Norman
«. If I conclude it to have been occupied by the Romans, and
then to have had this PrEetorium added to it, I do not see why they

144 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

should have possessed themselves of it, not being connected with any
road through the county.*" The site is commanding and well-
chosen for defence, as well as for observation, — the vale of the Dart,
Holne, Brent Beacon, Haldon, and the southern heights of Dartmoor
are all in view. By the road which skirts the western side of the
fort, we shall soon descend to Buckfast Abbey and Dart Bridge, and
shall terminate our lengthened excursion at Buckfastleigh, a small
market town, whose church, conspicuously placed on the brow of an
eminence, which rises above the Dart, has lately been rendered an
interesting object to the whole neighbourhood by the completion of

the spire,

" Whose finger points to heaven."

This, with other judicious repairs of this venerable fabric, reflect
credit on the liberality of the vicar and parishioners, by whose exer-
tions the old truncated, half-finished spire, which had so long been
a blemish on the scene, was removed, f

Our next excursion will lead us along the great Plymouth road
to Dean gate ; from whence we shall branch off to the right, in search
of the scene thus described by Polwhele. " About four miles from
Ashburton, in the parish of Dean Prior, the vale of Dean-Burn
unites the terrible and the graceful in so striking a manner, that to
enter this recess hath the effect of enchantment; whilst enormous
rocks seem to close around us, amidst the deep foliage of venerable
trees and the roar of torrents. And Dean-Burn would yield a noble
machinery for working on superstitious minds under the direction of
the Druids."

Leaving the inclosed country, and proceeding westward, we
shall return to the extensive tract of common land, J which we left, on

* Woollcombe's Fortified Mills in Devon, MSS. He appends a note, quoting
from Polwhele, to the following effect. " Some yean since, a great number of oral stones
were dug up at Henbury. They were plano-convex bodies, about three inches in dia-
meter ; no doubt they were the sling-stones of the antient Britons."

f The ecclesiastical antiquary will remark that this is the only spire among all the
border churches All the others have towers.

J These, and similar tracts of waste, are probably those referred to by the Peram-
bulators of 1608, when they " present that the soyle of dyvers moores, commons and
wastes, lyinge for the most parte, aboute the same Forest of Dartmoore, and usuallie called
by the name of Common of Devonshire, is parcel of the Dutchie of Cornwall ; and that
fosters, and other officers of His Majesty, and his progenitors, kings and queens of
England, have always accustomed to drive the said commons and waste {(rounds, and all
the commons, moores, and wastes of other men (lyinge in like manner about the said
forest, home to the corne hedges, and leape yeates rounde aboute the same common and
forest,) some few places only excepted." — Presentment of the Perambulator*, 1606.

IVOS IlKAIl

145

southwards, tu visit Henbury Castle. On the ridge, near a
aim, we shall find a moorland road, coming up in a straight direc-
tion from Dean, and here dividing into two branches, one diverging
to the left, towards Huntingdon (or, as it is in the Ordnance Map,

■ ton) Cross and the Abbot's Way, and the other proceeding
by Puppers and Ryder's Hill, to Aune, or Avon Head. We shall
remark that these moors, extending between the Avon and the Dart,
are remarkably deficient in tors, which so strikingly characterise
the borders in other parts. The monumental relics arc also com-
paratively few, and consist principally of cairns on the most con-
spicuous eminences.

We shall now return to the boundary of the South Quarter, in
the midst of these monotonous moors, at Knattleburrow, about a
mile to the eastward of the springs of the Avon ; this is supposed, by
the Perambulators, " to be the same that is called, in the old records,
Guattcshill," and by Risdon, (apparently,) Battshill. From the
point, where the south and cast quarters meet at Wobrooke, or
Oidbrook, as mentioned above, in our last excursion, it is not easy
to trace the Forest bounds, which are described as "from thence
Hnvalhe asccuding to Drylake, alias Drywoorke, and from thence
ascending by Drylake into Crefeild Ford, or Dryfeild Ford, and from
thence !o Knattlcburrow" — but from this point we shall again have
the advantage of the satisfactory guidance of natural objects. From
Knattleburrow the boundary proceeds lineally to Western Wella-
brook Head, following that stream till it falls into the river Avon.
From this point, the boundary-line is carried to Western Whitta-
burrow,* or Peter's Cross, and from thence it proceeds in a straight
tb'rection to Redlake foot, a rivulet which rises about a mile north of
Enne Pound, falling into the Ernie, and marking the boundary of
the Forest at the latter place.

But we have again reached a tract, where the hills are crowned
with tors, and the moors abound with objects of antiquarian interest.
We shall therefore leave the Forest bounds, and explore the inter-
esting district, between the line of perambulation on the north ;
the verge of the common lands on the south ; the Erme westward,
and the Avon on the east. Proceeding eastward, from Peter's

* Tlie ['erwnb ulaUuu aaja Eastern Whitttburrow, but, Ll would a]

146 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Cross, and following the old road at the foot of Western Whitta-
burrow, called Abbot's Way, we shall regain the banks of the Avon.
Leaving Huntingdon Cross on the left, we trace its course below
Eastern Whittaburrow, through a wild and waste hollow, to Shipley
Bridge, noticing some vestiges of aboriginal circles on the declivity
as we proceed. The channel is steep and rocky, and the river flows
vigorously towards the inclosed country, through a narrow gorge,
flanked on one side by Black Tor, and on the other, by Shipley Hill.
The single arched moorstone bridge, — little verdant pasture-crofts won
from the waste, — a moor-farm, scarcely sheltered from the upland
storms by a few sycamores, — peat stacks and granite bowlders, —
furze brakes and heather banks, — rugged moor-tracks winding up
from the valley to the heights above, — all combine to impart a
pleasing character of border wildness to the scene.

Following the moor-track which leads from Shipley Bridge
westwards, with Black Tor on the right and Bedlake rivulet on the
left, we shall trace the stream upwards to the bog below Three
Burrow Tor, from whence it takes its rise. Ascending the slope on
the northern side, we shall strike upon a fine trackway, coming up
the hill from the north-west, sixteen feet wide in many parts, and
ending in the large cairn on the crest of the height. This cairn is
of enormous size, probably one of the very largest in Devonshire ;
and with the two others, immediately near it on the same eminence,
and in a straight line, gives name to this conspicuous and well-
known tor. The cairns appear to have been erected upon the line
of the trackway which we shall trace from the north-western tumulus.
through the centre, to the south-eastern, and from thence shall
follow it in that direction to the extent of a mile.

Proceeding towards Coryndon Ball, we shall observe an entrance
gate opening upon the inclosed lands adjoining the common, through
which a road leads to South Brent. Within a hundred yards of the
gate will be noticed a congeries of massive stones, in which the
observant investigator will have no difficulty to discover unequivocal
evidence of a cromlech, once standing on this spot, but now in ruins,
and apparently overthrown by intentional violence ; as I observed that
the supporters are not crippled under the impost, as if pressed down
by the superincumbent mass, but are lying in situations where they
could not have accidentally fallen. The third supporter stands erect

BUKNT Bl-.Ai ON.

in

in its original position, of a pyramidal form, only four feet high,
and five feet wide in the broadest part. The impost, or quoit, is
eleven feet long, fire feet at the widest end, and fourteen inches in
average thickness. There are no other stones scattered around, bo as
to lead to the supposition that these are only large masses of granite,
among man; ethers, naturally thrown into these positions. There
is only another large flat stone, of greater size than the impost,
suggesting the notion of a covering for an Arkite cell. The height
of the supporters of the overthrown cromlech, appears more adapted
to the purposes of a kistvaen than of a cromlech, and it may also be
observed that the monument stood at the verge of a large mound
of stone and sod, sixty yards in circumference. A few score yards,
S.S.E., are the evident remains of a cairn, sacked, doubtless, to
build the boundary-wall adjoining.

While thus far on our way to South Brent, we shall take
advantage of the moor-road over Coryndon Ball, to visit some
interesting objects in and about that little market town, which is
ily situated on the Avon, at the foot of a lofty pyramidal
hill, known by the name of Brent Beacon. Passing through the
village, and going about half a mile along the old Exeter road,
(which winds over its eastern shoulder by a toilsome ascent,) we
■hall find a pathway leading to the top of the hill. From hence an
live view spreads before us in every direction." In front, the
rale of the Avon and the South Hams; on the north and west, the
bleak expanse of the moor ; while to the cast, the prospect extends to
the heights of Hal don. Descending over the steep declivity, on the
north-western side, wc shall reach the banks of the Avon, above the
village, and proceed to the bridge, which i3 a single lofty arch
spanning the deep and narrow channel of the genuine mountain
stream, that runs chafing and foaming over the granite masses
below. A pretty cottage, redolent with roses, and a "trim garden,"
overhanging the torrent, give contrast and effect to the scene.
Returning by the river-side, through a stately avenue of beech, in
the vicarage lawn, we shall pass the church, which is bounded on one
side by a thickly- wooded and steep bank, rising immediately above
the river. There is a fine old yew in the centre, which, with the

mHjM of u

uil.Uiig which furimrls siui.nl on the ji

I. riv ..

148 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

low machicolated and battlemented tower, — the chancel higher than
the nave, externally, — the remains of the screen, and the piers and
arches in the interior, — will not fail to detain and interest the
tourist.

Following the Plymouth road to Brent .Bridge, and there
diverging towards the commons, we shall pass by Glaze Meet, on our
way to the Eastern Beacon, a hill which, rising immediately above
the inclosed country, forms a conspicuous object on the southern
borders of the moor, and is crowned with a characteristic tor, the
western pile of which is surrounded by a cairn-like agglomeration
of stones. We shall observe that all the neighbouring heights are
crowned with cairns, as we proceed southward, to Butterton Hill and
the Western Beacon, which (if we may regard the chain of hills
that encircles Dartmoor, as a vast natural circumvallation,) we shall
describe as a huge ravelin projecting into the South Hams and over-
awing the lowlands. Of all the views gained from the border-
heights of Dartmoor, none is more extensive, varied, and inter-
esting, than that which greets the eye from this the southernmost
point of the great Devonshire moorlands. The South Hams lie
mapped out, at our feet, with the iron-bound coast from Torbay to
Plymouth Sound, forming the rugged boundary seaward. Beyond,
the blue expanse of the English Channel stretches away far and
wide, from Portland, in Dorset, to the Lizard Point, in Cornwall.
Bays, headlands, and estuaries, diversify the sea-board scene, while
mansions, churches, villages, and farms, are plentifully interspersed
among the corn-fields, pastures, orchards, and woodlands, which
occupy the whole district from the foot of the hills to the verge of
the channel. The estuary of the Yealm, beyond Kitley, and the
Lary, near Saltram, being completely landlocked, have the pleasing
appearance of inland lakes, while the steeples and forts of Plymouth,
rising amidst the smoke and haze of a populace and busy port, form
a conspicuous and interesting feature in the western distance. Nor
shall we fail to notice the railway's mazy track winding round the
base of those rugged hills, and marking, by those works of almost
more than Roman daring, (the viaducts at Glaze, Ivybridge, Blatch-
ford and Slade, in this immediate neighbourhood,) the memorable
sera in which we live. In such a spot as this, the admirer of natural
beauty may be pardoned, if, catching the enthusiasm of a Goldsmith,

"%

l\ l BRIDGE.

140

he cannot refrain from apostrophising the varied objects of interest
which meet his delighted gaze,— claiming them as his own, by the
very power of approbating and enjoying their charms.

Ye glitt'ring totvu*, with wealth ami sj.h-iuluiir crowu'd;

Ye fields, whan Summer spreads profusion round :

Ye lakes, whose vessels catch tha busy gale ;

Ye swains, whose laboara (ill the flowery vale ;

For tin', your tributary stores combine,

■:i's heir, tile world, the world is mine. — Traveller.

U" have thus reached, as already observed, the southernmost

point of the great western waste, from whence, with a trusty guide,

rible to traverse, without any other obstacle, than those of
bogs and morasses, tors and clatters, a distance of twenty-two miles,
over an uninterrupted succession of moorlands to the fences of
Okchampton Park in the north. Bending our steps northwards,
and skirting the western slope of the hill, we shall notice some
remains of hut-circles, and observe below Black Tor, a large pond,
which, in winter, might almost aspire to the distinction of a mountain
tarn. On the common, above Lukesland Grove, are traces of a
able circle, or ring, much dilapidated, which will not detain
us from our inn, in the valley, to which we shall hasten through the
moor-gate above Stowford, and crossing the line of the South Devon
railway, in front of the viaduct, which here spans the ravine at one
hundred and fifteen feet above the waterway of the Erme, and
appears suspended in mid-air, — shall soon reach the border village
of Ivy-bridge and there close our excursion.

Ivybridgc, situated at the 'foot of the southern heights of Dart-
ir, on the banks of the Erme, has been long celebrated for the
picturesque bridge, drapcried with ivy and overhung with luxuriant
foliage, to which it owes its name. The great mail road from
Plymouth to Exeter, was here, in former years, carried over the
deep rocky channel of the Erme ; but more recently a commodious
bridge has been erected lower down, now superseded in its turn
by the South Devon railway, whose viaduct we have observed
spanning the deep glen above the village, between Hanger Down
and Stowford.

Nil raortalibus nrduiiiu est.
Gelum ijisniii jvetitmip.

150 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Passing below this aerial highway, we shall proceed up the
sylvan dell of the Erme to Harford Bridge, and from thence by
Harford church, a little rustic sanctuary on the verge of the moor, with
its characteristic granite steeple, and well-planted green adjoining,
shall enter upon the commons, through a moor-gate hard by. In our
progress along the side of the hill, above the eastern bank of the
Erme, we shall notice a kistvaen in considerable perfection, within a
circle of nine stones still erect, one of which is a large slab four feet
six long, by three feet wide in the broadest part. The kistvaen itself
is four feet six inches by two feet four, — the coverstone appears to
have been broken, and has fallen into the cavity, which is about
eighteen inches deep. This antient relic will be discovered without
difficulty, by a practised eye, as the surrounding common is remark-
ably free from natural rocks, furze, and heather.

The lower part of the common, towards the river, is inclosed by
a new-take wall, within which, we shall observe a group of singular
inclosures, which the antiquary will find it difficult to classify.
Antient tracklines, or boundary-banks, are mingled with walls of
(apparently) more recent construction, yet these are evidently not
erected for the ordinary purposes of modern fences. There are
also the foundations of several large circular inclosures, one of which
has the jambs erect, and another looks like a dilapidated cairn. The
most perfect of these inclosures is thirty-two yards in circumference ;
but there are no hut-circles of the usual size, indicating aboriginal
population. Traces of antient excavations might lead to the suppo-
sition that these appearances are referable to the mining operations
of former days, but the most plausible conjecture will still leave much
room for speculation. The Erme runs at the foot of the declivity, and
the battlements of Harford church are seen peeping oyer the shoulder
of the hill southward.

Proceeding up the slope of the common, N.E., we shall cross a
line of bound-stones, tending towards the cairn on the summit of
Sharp Tor. This cairn is about sixty yards in circumference, and
at least ten feet high. A mountain track, which it may be possible
for turf-carts to traverse, passes below this tor, and skirting Three
Barrow Tor, bears onward to Erme plains. We shall follow this track
to Redlake, where we left the Forest bounds in our last excursion, and
noticing Erme Pound, near the river, shall trace the boundary along

l.AM.rouitE KI8TVAEN.

151

the rivet to Erme, or Arme Head, which the Perambulators take to be
a place named in the said [old] records G ritnsgrove." Hence we shall
i-iss a tract of unvaried morasses, or bog-lauds, to Plym Head,
following the guidance of the Forest boundary-line, which is here
drawn from point to point, — from the source of the Avon to the
if the Plym. Here the South Quarter ends, and the Western
takes its commencement; and near tins point, about a quarter of a
mile west of Plym Head, in Langcornbe Bottom, with Shecpstor
looming boldly against the western sky, we shall observe one of the
Boost perfect specimens of the antient kistvaen in the whole of
■ if This aboriginal sarcophagus is formed of granite slabs,
abuut a baud-breadth in thickness. The side stones of the sarco-
phagus arc four feet nine in length ; the footstone is two feet three
inches. — I 111 breadth of the kistvaen in the clear, The depth is about
■i i. The co vers tone has fallen in, but in other respects this
auticut sepulchre is singularly perfect. It seems to have been con-
structed on an artificial mound, or tumulus, slightly elevated :ibove the
natural level- A circular inclosurc, thirteen yards in circumference,
surrounds the kistvaen; some of the stones of which it is formed,
remain erect in their original position, others have fallen. The
ground, on all sides, is much overgrown with heather, and the anti-

• Some etymologists have triced the nameof Graham, or Grirme, in Grtmsgrove mil
(irimspound. and have thought tint these appellations should be included in the same
•tjino logical category with Graham's Dyke.

t 1 am indebted for my knowledge of this Liitercsliris riiic "!' aniiuiiiiY, ti> ilie kind.
»*M*(P. O. Treby, Esq., of Goodamoor. one of the four Deputy Fo res I era of Dartmoor,
»>nu tli.ironehly acquainted with every part of the moor in this nei;;libour)ioiid, and whoso
tofMioo to the sporis of the field, for which Dartmoor affords such singular advantages,
toes aol prevent his interesting himself, in the preservation of the venerable monuments
**»J-gons times. The votaries of nature, no less than the sons of Ntmrod, will cor.
*»U» respond to the general sentiment of the following characteristic lines, which were
•Muintlv. brought under my notice, at Goodamoor, and cannot be more appositely
'■■nicd, khan in this place.

Let Fashion exult in her giddy e-areer.

And headlong her course o'er the universe steer;

There"a a land in Hie west never bow'd to her throne,

Where Nature for ages lias triuinph'd alone,

And Dian olt revels in wild ecstasy,

O'er gray granite tors, or soft mossy lea,

Where the fox loves to kennel, llie btiBiard in soar

All boundless and free o'er the rugged Dartmoor.

Far retnov'd be the day ere fashion deface

The features and charms, of this primitive place !

The freehold of Nature. though rugged it be,

Long, long may it flourish, utisu] lif.i and free ;

May the fox love to kennel, the tiuszard to soar,

The tenants of Nature on rugged Dartmoor.

152 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

quary, without a guide, may have some difficulty in finding the object
of his search ; but by crossing the boggy table-land from Yealm Head
to Plym Head, N.N.W., and by following one of the springs of the
Plym, as it flows down Langcombe Bottom, carefully examining the
right-hand bank as he proceeds, he will not fail to discover it near the
northern brink of the stream. Or if he comes from the Sheepstor
side, and traces the river upwards, he will find it conversely on the
left hand. And whilst he will not grudge the trouble of penetrating
these difficult and dreary moorlands, he will scarcely fail to be struck
with surprise, to find this primitive tomb in the midst of the wilder-
ness, so far remote from every vestige of the occupation of living
inhabitants.

Turning from the Forest boundary, and mounting the bank
opposite to the kistvaen, we shall traverse the morasses, and pass a
modern bound-stone, marked on three faces L. B. P., in our way to
Yealm Head. This river takes its rise on the southern yerge of the
swampy table-land, which stretches to a wide extent above the
sources of the Avon, the Erme, the Plym, and the Yealm. We
shall follow the course of the latter stream, down a narrow moorland
glen, between Broadall Down and Stallmoor. As we skirt along
the western bank, we shall observe, on the declivity of Stallmoor,
opposite, evident vestiges of circular inclosures.

In this glen, about a mile from the source, we shall observe the
ruins of a curious building, which was conjectured, by Mr. Wooll-
combe, (who discovered it in 1844,) to have been a hermitage.

" Far in a wild, unknown to public view," it certainly is, and thus
might have met the wishes of the most solitary anchorite. Sooth
to say, the recluse might have found some difficulty in supplying
his scrip with fruits and herbs, like the " gentle hermit of the dale "
of lyric fame, except when June had ripened the purple whortle-
berry ; but a supply of water from the spring, clear and abundant,
the Yealm would furnish, as it flowed close to the walls of the
sequestered cell, in a succession of cheery little waterfalls. A nar-
row strip of level ground runs along the river's brink, backed by
a rocky scarp on the cast. Under the lee of this ledge, are the
ruined walls of a small oblong building, inclosing an area about
twenty-one feet by sixteen. The walls are formed of large stones,
laid in earth ; no mortar appears to have been used. The remains

158

of the walls are from one foot to three in height. Mr. Woollcomhe
thought he could trace the appearance of the remains of a piscina in the
eastern wall, where a recess will be observed, formed of granite slabs,
bo vestiges of a fire-place appear. The door was in the north-cast
comer. A squared stone, much mutilated, will also be noticed, in
which two oblong apertures have been made, but for what object is
not apparent. Nor is it easy to decide for what purposes the building
itself could have been creeled, in this wild and remote spot, even if
the evidence in favour of its eremitical character should be deemed
questionable or insufficient.

Leaving the banks of the Yealm, and crossing Broadall Down,

W. by S., we shall reach one of the tributaries of that river, rising in

the hill-side below Pen Beacon. On the ascent immediately above,

we ehall observe the remains of numerous hut-circles and other

vestiges of antient occupation, within a large irregular curvilinear

losure. From hence, mounting the hill, N.W. by N. we shall

make for the cairn on the summit, well-known by the name of Pen

eon. From this cairn, a trackline proceeds directly along the

ridge; this we shall follow in the direction of the neighbouring

eminence, which we shall observe rising above Pen Beacon to the

north. As we proceed, we find the trackline which probably here

Mrred as a boundary, on its approach to Shell Top, diverging from

the tor, on the summit, a little to the east. Here, as on Whitta-

borrow, a cairn has been built round the tor, which is of small size,

sad consists of layers of native rock, rising like shelves above the

unrounding aggregation of loose stones. Shell Top, or, to adopt

the more euphonious appellation of the moormen, Pensheil, rises

to the height of sixteen hundred feet above the sea-level, and is

908 hundred and thirty higher than Pen Beacon. As frontier

heights, these are both conspicuous objects from all the adjacent

Wkads; whilst the prospect from their summits, comprehending

iter part of those objects seen from the Western Beacon, is

•till more extensive towards the north-west, where Mistor, Cockstor,

Mil Stapletor are seen on the western borders, and Bellevor is

•htwrnible in the very centre of the moor, peering over the line

°* Uble-land on the north-east. The lakc-Uke appearance of the

Stearics of our Devonshire rivers is here even still more decisive.

154 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

If acquainted with the country, we can almost trace, by means of its
wooded banks, a great part of the course of the Yealm, —

Pride of our austral vales,

as Carrington styles it, from the point where we left it before, through
the pleasant vale of Blatchford, (with the church and village of Corn-
wood on the western bank above,) onwards to the estuary, where,
surrounded by the groves and heights of Kitley, Puslinch, and Wem-
bury, we can discern its tidal waters " sleeping in sunshine," like an
inland lake. The Lary, (the estuary of Plym,) seen curving round
Saltram point; the Lynher, or St. German's lake; and the Tamar
between Beer Ferrers and Llandulph, are all visible, presenting the
appearance of inland sheets of water, more or less extensive.

But we must leave this noble panorama, and descend the south-
western slope of the hill, to examine a considerable aboriginal village,
where the hut-circles are of the usual description ; but the circum-
vallation is rectangular, instead of oval or circular as it is more
generally seen. Lower down is Whithill Yeo, where the Tony, a
considerable tributary of the Plym, takes its rise. Passing through a
moor-gate, we now proceed S.S.W. to Cholwich town moor, where,
on the lands of the Earl of Morley, near Torch Gate, there is a single
line of stones, placed at regular intervals, of precisely the same des-
cription as the double lines, or avenues, already noticed in other
parts of the moor. This venerable monument of antiquity has been
lamentably despoiled within the last year, but the line can still be
traced to the extent of two hundred and thirty yards. The stones
are placed erect, at intervals of from three to six feet ; at the northern
extremity is a sacred circle of five yards in diameter, formed of six
stones. The line runs nearly north and south ; the highest stone is
about six feet. I learn, with regret, that a much larger stone was
removed a short time since ; this is described as having been twelve
feet high, and was therefore probably a maen, similar to that in the
large village at Merivale. Under any circumstances, such spoliation
would be most justly censured; how much more, when the whole
neighbourhood abounds with granite, in all respects adapted for the
purposes of the railway contractors, so that there is not the slightest
plea for the sacrificing those monuments of past ages, at the shrine of
modern enterprise.

HEMERDON BALL.

155

Passing through Torch moor-gate, in the direction of Brimedge,
we shall notice some traces of tracklines and hut-circlea much oblite-
rated. From hence we shall pass Goodamoor, the seat of P. Treby,
Esq., a situation well-adapted for the residence of the Deputy-
Forester of the South Quarter. Here we follow the Plympton road
through the village of Sparkwell,* and passing 13eechwood,t the seat
of Col. Mudge, to whose Ordnance Map of Devon the Dartmoor
tourist is so much indebted. We here leave the Plympton road, and
turning to the right, shall skirt the eastern side of Hemerdon Ball,
on which an encampment for troops was formed at the beginning of
the present century, in prospect of a French invasion ; and which
was then a heath-covered common, but which has since been culti-
vated to the summit by the judicious management of Capt. Wooll-
combe, of Hemerdon, the proprietor.

From hence, we shall soon enter upon a good road, which passes
from Ivybridge through Cornwood towards Tavistock, and as we
advance along the commons, shall notice the china-clay works, on
the lands of the Earl of Morley and Capt. Woollcombe, mentioned
in the Geological View. (Appendix No. 1., p. 207.) By the road-
side, on the right, on Lee Moor, north of the buildings connected with
>:ks, is a rude, massive cross, the shaft of which appears to
have been broken off, as there is only enough now left to raise the
cross slightly above the large block, in which a socket has been
formed to receive it. Diverging from this road, and proceeding to
the westward of the Morley clay works, we shall find, near the
road from those works to Shaugh church-town, a singular relic,

• Here we shall notice a little unpretending chapel, which has been provided for
ihit distant pan of the extensive pnrign (>f V/lympUm St. Mary, ?>y the indefatigable
cxertioni of Ihe zealous incumbent, the Bev. W. J. Coppard, seconded by the liberality
of lie neighbouring proprietors.

t The Beech grow* vigorously in many spots on our moorland borders. At Great
Fnlford, the fine old seal of Baldwin Fulford, Esq.. is a noble avenue, so widely spread-
ing tint ViTftiL might nave placed Tityrns with perfect satisfaction under the shade of
the least. Col. Mudge'i seat, on the soul h hordor, derives its name from a number of
the** stately tree*, which adorn and characterise the spot. In anticnt times the numbere
wen probably far greater, and with the oak, might have been frequented by out Pagan
ancestors for ihe purposes of worship; and if our excursion from the height* of Pensheil
to beechwood has been made under a cloudless sky, *e shall fully enter iulo Ibe feelings
of the friend of Wilberforee, who thus felicitously describe* the amenities of a beech en
froto, and carries us back to Druidieal associations. "O what a deucioui oralory is a
beech wood, in a calm hot day 1 Not a leaf stirring,— not a sound.— a sacred kind of
Rudy light, with berc and there a straggling sunbeam, like the gleam of providential

a <Piu

of life. Id.
1 woodi. It mu9t have be
-Lift, trol. ii., pp. 463, 4

I Ml.)

156 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

•

known in the neighbourhood as the Roman Camp; but which, as
Mr. Woollcombe, on inspection, immediately pronounced, it certainly
is not; nor does it appear to be an entrenchment belonging either to
the British, Saxon, or Danish periods. In form, it is a parallelogram,
measuring one hundred and fifty feet by eighty-six; the ramparts,
or artificial banks, by which it is surrounded, are from twenty-six
to forty feet high in some places, and have been evidently constructed
with sod and earth taken from the inside, and not from without, so
as to form a fosse for more effectual defence, as is usually done.
Since it could not have been an entrenchment for defence, the
conjecture has been hazarded, that this singular erection might hare
been for the purpose of exhibiting games, or for other large assem-
blies of people.

Returning to the highway, we shall proceed to Cadaford Bridge ;
and diverging to the right, along the banks of the Plym,* shall visit
Trowlsworthy Warren for the purpose of examining a group of antient
relics in that neighbourhood. One of the numerous Dartmoor streams
which bear the name of Blackabrook, here renders its tribute to the
Plym. Scarcely a furlong N.E. of this rivulet, on the slope of
Trowlsworthy Hill, is a fine example of the Pound, or Cyclopean
inclosure, of an irregular oval form, ninety feet by seventy. The
mound in some parts forms a slope of twelve feet. About a quarter
of a mile on the same side of the hill, with Great and Little Trowls-
worthy tors on the ridge, eastward of the former, is a sacred circle,
with an avenue, or parallelithon. The circle, which consists of eight
stones, is seventy-three feet in circumference. The highest stone is
five feet from the ground by two in breadth. Seven remain in their
original position, and one has been thrown down. The parallelithon
consists of sixty stones on the east side and fifty-five on the west,
leading towards Blackabrook, and ending in a stone five feet high.
Above a quarter of a mile west, we shall observe another circle
of much smaller dimensions, no more than eighteen feet in diameter,
of which all the stones are fallen. From thence a line of similar
stones, forty-six in number, can be traced, which appears to terminate
in a larger stone four feet in height.

Returning to the banks of the Plym, we follow the course of the

* Sometimes erroneously called the Cad.

UKWLRBTONE CLIFF.

157

river through a deep border-glen, which, under the name of the
Valley of the Cad, is thus graphically described by one of the
annotate rs on Caning ton* "The traveller will behold the Valley
of the Cad to the greatest advantage, by descending the left bank
of the river from Cadaford Bridge, * • • The right bank rises to a
dizzy height, covered with a beautiful profusion of young trees. It
s opposed, however, on the other side, by a slope of very different
appearance. All there, is dreary yet magnificent, — -barrenness
il a bough to shade it, and, at first sight, without a vegetable
beauty to recommend it. Huge fragments of granite lie scattered
in wildest confusion. Some masses appear as if they had just
been torn out of the bowels of the moor by some unearthly power ;
others are on tiptoe to quit their precarious situations and roll down
to the flashing torrent." Allured by such a description, to thread
the rocky mazes of this sequestered glen, we shall proceed till the
rugged crest of Dewerstone, sung by more than one native minstrel,
is descried towering above the scene. " This huge mass of rock,"
continues the same writer, " rises perpendicularly from the stream
to an immense height. Its whole surface is jagged and seamed in
oner so peculiar to granite, which makes the beholder imagine
that the stones are regularly piled on each other. It is profusely
overgrown with ivy, and other creeping plants, which spread their
pleasing foliage over its shattered front, as if anxious to bind up the
wounds that time and tempest have inflicted. To add to the striking
A of it* appearance, numerous hawks, ravens, &c, may be seen
floating around its rugged crest, and tilling the air with their hoarse
"minings. The rocks immediately beneath seem as if they had
been struck at once by a thousand thunderbolts, and appear only
prevented from bursting asunder by chains of ivy. A few wild
flowers are sprinkled about in the crevices of the cliff; tufts of broom
*we like golden banners in the passing breeze ; and these, with
td there a mountain ash clinging half-way down the prcci-
0, impart a wild animation to the spot."
We wind down the glen to Shaugh Bridge, amidst the familiar
•Woes upon which the muse of Carrington loved to dwell, where,
noa •• Dartmoor's prolific bosom,"

' Mr. H. E. CtmiEgton, son of (he poet, cdilur of Ihe Bulk Chronicle

158 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Rolls the Plym,
With murmuring course by Sheepstor's dark browM rock.
And Meav/s venerable oak, to meet
The ever-brawling Cad.* How oft, as noon,
Unnotic'd faded into eve, my feet
Have linger'd near thy bridge, romantic Shangh ;
While as the sister waters rush'd beneath
Tumultuous, haply glanc'd the setting beam
Upon the crest of Dewerstone.

This river has been happily characterised by our bard, as " the
sylvan Plym." f At Shaugh Bridge, this pleasing and characteristic
feature begins to be decisively manifested. Here the stern rug-
gedness of the upland ravine appears blended with the softer
lineaments of downs and woodlands. From Dewerstone to Saltram
Point, where its estuary widens into a tidal lake, the banks of the
Plym are, for the most part, clothed with woods chiefly of England's
national tree, the noble oak. The bold headland, from the eastern
flank of which Dewerstone protrudes, is mantled with copse down to
the " margent" of the united streams. Few spots in the west display
a greater share of natural charms " than this vale, in whose bosom
the dark waters meet ; and here, too, the " accidents " of moorland
scenery, in the most sublime and awful forms, may be contemplated,
under singularly favourable circumstances, by those who fear not to
woo Nature in her wintry garb, and in her mountain seclusion. A
high temperature and a thick fall of snow are not unfrequently, in
our variable climate, succeeded by a rapid thaw, accompanied by
heavy and continuous rain. Such a sudden thaw took place during
the severe winter of 1823, on the night of the 27th of January.

* The late Mr. N. Howard, of Tamerton, near Plymouth, in his interesting local
poem, Bickleigh Vale, has sketched some points of this border-scenery in flowing
numbers.

Hence the Cad, o'er rocks white flashing, roars
To meet the lucid Plym.

But both poets seem to be mistaken in designating this stream by the name of Cad.
That it is properly the Plym is evident from Plym Head being well known as its source,
and Plym Steps being also on the same branch, not far from the source. The name
of Cadaford Bridge has probably given rise to the mistake; — it having been inferred that
Cadaford must necessarily mean the ford of the river Cad. But Cad is a baitie-Juld.
Hence it may be conjectured, on more satisfactory grounds, that this bridge may have
been so designated from some unrecorded conflict on the neighbouring moors. Toe
western branch of the Plym, which joins it, above Shaugh Bridge, has been by sons
called the Mew.

f Plym, says Baxter, in his Glossary, from Pilim, Erse or Celtic, to roll.

SHA1 OB BRIDGE.

159

The pouring rains and the melting snow rushed together from a
hundred hills into the narrow glen of the Plym ; and speedily
swelled the stream to a mighty river, which overspread the entire
floor of the vale, and swept along high up the slopes of the accli-
Titiea with resistless force, until the adamantine barrier of Dewer-
stoue checked for a moment the impetuous torrent. But like a
furious animal loosened from its bonds, and maddened by resistance,
the raging stream dashed its turbid waves against the beetling cliff',
and threw the foaming spray, as in triumph, over its loftiest crag,
while the roar of conflict was heard far along the echoing dales.
The unbridled flood, came careering down the widened vale, and
rushing amain through the lofty arch of old Shaugh Bridge, filled it
to the key-stone, and directing the main force of its overflowing
current along the eastern bank, dislodged the huge masses which
formed the antient causeway to the mill, as though they had been
pebbles. This bridge has been replaced by the present substantial
structure of hewn granite.

Following the road along the line of this causeway, we shall
diverge from the river and mount the hill, eastward, in our way to
Shaugh church-town, a straggling village of genuine moorland
character. The rude simplicity of this hamlet, and the Alpine
wildness of the whole surrounding scenery, (in the opinion of a
noble lady of no mean authority on points of art and taste,) forcibly
impress the travelled observer, with their resemblance to some well-
lered scenes amidst the Swiss mountains. The village church,
with its lofty, well-proportioned moorstone steeple, forms a conspi-
cuous and pleasing object as we ascend the breezy common. And
should we be tempted to turn aside, to examine more closely this
■"Sple but venerable moorland sanctuary, we shall doubtless hear
"Otrt the sexton an account of the well -remembered thunder-storm,
"hich occurred in the same winter as the flood above recorded, and
w nich would have been no less terrific in its results than that, of
** iildccombe, had it not providentially happened on a weekday,
lll stead of on Sunday, in service time, as in the former case. The
'ghtning struck off one of the pinnacles of the tower level with the
"*tt!ements ; and hurled ihe fragments on the roof over the southern
***le, the western part of which was laid in ruins. About two hun-
ted and thirty panes of glass were shivered, and among the few

160 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

that escaped uninjured, was a small one, at the east end, of stained
glass, the emblazonment of which, intimated the antient dependance
of Shaugh church upon the Priory of Plympton St. Mary. Stones
of large size were flung into the neighbouring croft, at a considerable
distance. The rural chronicler will, perhaps, " point a moral/ 9 by
telling us that a parish meeting for paying the poor had been fixed
to be held, in that very part of the west end of the aisle where the
pinnacle fell, and where, had the parishioners met, as intended, the
loss of life must have been far more terrific than at Widdecombe ; —
he will probably assure us, that there were many who thought at the
time that the thunder-storm was intended to admonish against such
profanation of the house of God in future.

rnbente
Dextera sacras jaculatns arces.

On Shaugh Common, east of the village, we shall notice many
remains of hut-circles, as well as some larger inclosures. Proceeding
along the slope of the common, above the road from Shaugh to
Plympton, we shall observe an interesting relic of the cromlech
kind, but to which Polwhele denies the honour, — for reasons which,
on examination of the object itself, will immediately appear inap-
plicable and groundless. The impost-stone is doubtless supported
in an unusual manner, resting partly on a ledge of rock, which
forms also a natural wall on one side of the area covered by the
quoit, but artificially supported on the other side. The impost,
apparently, stands in its original position, and is similar in appearance
to those which belong to undisputed cromlechs.

Returning to the road, we pass through the moor-gate on the
south, and following the highway towards Plympton, shall observe
on the high ground south of Brixton Farm, (originally known as
Heath Down, but now inclosed,) the vestiges of a small camp or
entrenchment. The ground has been cultivated, but the circum-
vallation can still be traced, and is found to form a complete circle, of
five hundred yards. This antient fort, which is known to antiquaries
by the name of Boringdon Camp, seems never to have consisted of
more than a single rampart and ditch. It commands an extensive
prospect on all sides, and especially towards the south-west, where
Plymouth Sound is distinctly seen, at the distance of seven miles,

PLYMPTON * .VSTI.K.

161

and was no doubt designedly erected, in view of the Channel. From
bence we soon reach a sylvan lane which descends the hill between
Newuham Park on the left, and the grounds of Elfordleigh on the
right, and conducts us to the vale of the Torry, at Loughtor Mill,
where wc cross the stream, amidst scenery of much interest. Still
journeying southwards, within two miles we shall arrive at the
of Ridgeway, where the name of the antient Roman road is
reserved in the modern appellation, and where, in all proba-
bility, it will be found that the line of the antient highway is indicated
for some distance, at least by the present mail-road from Plymouth
to Exeter. At Plympton, in the vale below, as a stannary town, and
as a place where the antiquary will not fail to find many objects of
sufficient interest to excite inquiry and to repay examination, we
shall terminate our excursion.

At the two Plymptons, — St. Mary, and St. Maurice or Plympton
Kirl, by which designation the borough town is distinguished from
the former parish, — wc shall find within the circuit of about half a
mile, an undoubted Roman road ; a Norman baronial castle, with a
lofty mound and the remains of the massive "walls of the keep, — the
base court, moat, and barbican clearly defined ; the site and vestiges
of a once wealthy and important priory; two churches of hewn
stone, — one, that of Plympton St. Mary, full of architectural interest, —
and both indicating their proximity to the moorland district by the
granite of which they are constructed ; and a large school-house,
raised on arches, with high pitched-roof, mullioncd windows, also
of granite, and a spacious piazza below. Plympton Earl, which
boast! the latter fabric, claims also high antiquity as a borough;
and the well-known couplet, current in the neighbourhood, alludes
lo the comparatively recent origin of its prosperous daughter-town
of Plymouth.

Ptymyton was a borough town,

When Plymouth was a Jiirzy down.
A respectable looking Guildhall of the latter part of the seventeenth
. built on arches and projecting into the street, according to
the prevailing fashion, stands as a monument of departed parlia-
mentary honours. The castle, once the possession of the powerful
family of Redvers, earls of Devon, (whence the cognomen of the
Wough,) overawed and protected their subject town, which nestled

162 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

in its pleasant valley, under their formidable bulwarks. The church
was originally a chantry chapel to Flympton St. Mary adjoining.
The grammar-school is celebrated as the place where Sir Joshua
Reynolds received the rudiments of education under his father, the
master of the school, in 1723. Flympton, although not larger than
many villages, is a complete town in miniature, with its continuous
lines of respectable-looking houses, paved streets, and public buildings ;
and with him who, like the author, cannot revisit its well-remembered
purlieus, without a crowd of pleasing associations with by-gone
years, the " Donjon keep," the old penthouse, the venerable school,
and the Great House, will remain indelibly impressed upon the
memory, as the characteristic features of the miniature municipality.
From the ruined walls of the keep, or the loftier vantage ground
of the tor-capt eminence, which rises boldly above the town on the
west, all the varied and pleasing objects of the cheerful vale of
Plympton, bounded on the north by the Dartmoor range, will be
full in view ; nor will he fail to recall, with personal application, the
appropriate lines of the great master of the English lyre, —

I feel the gales that from ye blow,

A momentary bliss bestow,

As waving fresh with gladsome wing,

My weary soul, they seem to sooth,

And redolent of joy and youth,
To breathe a second spring.
Coming down from the hill, by a steep lane which enters the
road at the west of Plympton, we shall proceed on our next excursion
through Dark-street lane. In the significant appellation of street,
most antiquaries detect good evidence of the existence of an old
Roman road, {strata via, J and the proximity of the Ridge-way to
which we again return at the end of Dark-street lane, in the present
instance, greatly favours the hypothesis.

Beyond the western extremity of the village of Ridgeway, in a
low situation,* near the banks of the Torry, we shall obtain a nearer
view of the fine old parish church of Plympton St. Mary. The lofly

* A legend (similar to one found in other parts) connected with the building of this
church, is called into requisition to account for its erection in a situation which originally
must have been little better than a marsh. The site fixed upon, (certainly, a more cen-
tral and dry one than the present,) is said to have been Crownhay Castle, about two
miles to the eastward, near the present Chaddlewood lodge, and there, accordingly,
materials for the future church were deposited. But, to the astonishment of the workmen,

HICJK LEIGH VALE.

163

granite tower, embattled, pinnacled, and crockcttcd ; north and south
porches, and the south aisle, also, embattled; and the five roofs,
are the external features of this interesting specimen of Perpendicular
architecture, which will immediately strike the antiquarian observer.
Nor will he be disappointed in the interior, where the eastern
windows, in particular, the sedilia, the Strode monument* and the
lour arcades, will not fad to attract his attention. A few meagre
relics of the once flourishing priory may be traced on the south of
tkfl ' ■Imrch, and beyond the precincts the convent mill, under the
name of Priory, still exists.

At Plympton St. Mary bridge, we diverge from the Plymouth
turnpike, and follow the road by whicb, from early times, an inter-
course was kept up between the antient towns of Plympton and
Ttvistock. Passing over the saddle of the hill, it skirts Boringdon
Park, and, dropping into the well-wooded vale of the Plyra, crosses
that river at Flym Bridge, near which, beneath the trees on the right
of the road, will be observed the scanty remains of an antient ruined
chapel or cell. We cross the bridge and mount the opposite hill to
the Plymouth and Dartmoor railway, which follows the frequent
sinuosities of the declivities along which it is carried, and thus
discloses, in succession, the justly celebrated charms of Bicklcigh
Vale ; nor could a pleasure-drive through a lordly domain have been
more felicitously laid out for the enjoyment of the scenery than the
line of railway between Leigham and Jump, where it skirts the
Tavistock turnpike at the southern extremity of Roborough Down.
Here we look down upon the village and well-proportioned granite
Steeple of Bicklcigh.f with Shaugh and Dewerstone among the
purple heights eastward.

tlm stone and timber collected there by day, were regularly and pertinaciously removed,
by Uie Enemy, at. night ; until, at length, wearied by repented attempts to build on the
iripnal site, the architect was constrained to erect bis church where it uow stands, some
(our or five miles from the eastern extremity of the parish.

• The restoration of this interesting uiediteval monument, as well as other parts of
the church, and the excellent state of the building in general, reflect the highest credit

lie correct tasto and unwearied leal of the Rev. W. J. Coppard, who, during an
of thirty years, has proved hitnielf the ablo and judicious conservator of the
..__ edifice intrusted to his core, and has shown how much may bo accomplished by
twnwrcrxnee and well-directed exertion, for the maintenance and preservation of the
utticnt sanctuaries of our land.

t The steeple is the only antient part of the edifice. The entire church was taken
de*n and rebuilt, in the Perpendicular style, with substantial materials, and in excellent
Uj'c. at the sole expense of Sir Ralph Lopes, of Maristow, Baronet, the principal pro.
prietor of lands in the pariah.

164 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

We pass over a breezy tract of open country, bounded by the
grounds of Maristow on one side, and the western branch of the
Plym, or Mew, on the other, to the eastern verge of Roborough
Down, at Hoo Meavy Bridge. Here we cross the river, and proceed
to the village of Meavy, (which appears to take its name from the
neighbouring stream,) where we shall pause to examine the simple
rural church, with the venerable oak in front, coeval perhaps with the
sacred structure itself. The tree is of no great height, but spreads
widely, and the trunk is of large circumference. Completely hollowed
out as it is, it yet bears its leafy honours aloft, and presents an object
of much interest and picturesque beauty. The village chronicles
relate that nine persons once dined within the hollow trunk, where
a peat-stack may now be frequently seen, piled up as winter fuel.

From Meavy, we trace the course of the river upwards to the
adjoining parish of Sheepstor, noticing the waterfall as we proceed.
The village church, with its moorstone tower, stands at the foot of
the rugged tor, which rises boldly above, and gives name to the
parish. We climb the hill, and soon find ourselves in a wilderness
of scattered moorstone masses, with which the whole southern slope
is profusely covered. In the midst of the clatter we shall discover
the cave, or Pisky House, as it is popularly called, in which it is
said, that one of the family of Elford once found a secure asylum in
the troublous times of the civil wars. The opening, which is
exceedingly difficult to find, without a guide, is under an overhanging
mass of moorstone. The passage proceeds at first in a straight
direction, but suddenly turns, and terminates in a sort of recess
where two or three persons might lie concealed. The notion that
this cave is the resort of the Piskies, or Pixies, appears still to be
extant in the neighbourhood.

Almost due east from Sheepstor the moorlands rise into a high
ridge, the loftiest point of which is at Eylesburrow, where we once
more meet the Forest boundary coming hither in a direct line from
Plym Head.* From Eylesburrow we trace the bounds by an imagi-
nary line to Siward's Cross, which is said to have had antiently

♦ The rivers which take their rise in the northern parts of the moor, have already
been enumerated, (p. 75.) Those rising in the swampy table-land of the south may
here be mentioned to complete the catalogue.

The Plym, rising near Eylesburrow, flows westward below Trowlsworthy ton, to
Cadaford Bridge, Dewerstone, and Shaugh Bridge, where it receives the Mbw, or Wbst

»iward\s i aoaa. 165

inscribed on one face of the stone the words Crtix Siwardi, and
on the other, Roohmde.*

It appears thai about two years since, by some means never satis-
factorily ascertained, this antient cross was overthrown and broken.
That a monument so interesting has not been irrecoverably lost, ia
owing to the timely care of Sir Ralph Lopes, who caused it to be
repaired and replaced in its former position.

The remains of another cross in this quarter of the moor, has
been supposed to point out the spot where Childe, of Plymstock,
was benighted, and perished from intense cold, but this may be mere
conjecture. If Risdon's account is to be credited, the place where
"the luckless hunter," near Fox Tor, met his death, was marked by
*ome kind of sepulchral monument. This our quaint topographer
describes as the second of the three remarkable things in the Forest,
tond is Childe's of PHmstock's tomb, of the manner of
whose death mention is already made, in Flimstock, which is to be
seen in the moor, where he was frozen to death." The story of his
ind disembowelling his horse lo shelter himself from the
biting blasts of the moor, and of his leaving a couplet to the fol-
lowing efl'ect, which contained his last will and testament, written
*ith his own blood, have been often said as well as sung, f
iTIjf fmStt ili.it fmiurs sntr brings mi te inn jjrabr,
Cilt lanVS of ^Jlnmstolit tljf n -Sli.il babe.

Plftx, from Meavy and Sheepslor. The augmented stream continues its course through
UMgb Vale to tlie esiuary of ihe Lary, and falls inio the sea nt Plymouth, to which
luwii port, 114 well as to die borough of I'lyinpton, and the parishes uf Plynipton St.
H*ry ind Plymstock, it (rives name.

Toe Yk.lm rises in the boggy table-land rtoulh of Shavercombe Head, and flows in
> direct course to Corn wood. At Lcemill Bridge it is crossed by the great Plymouth
"•d, puses Ycalmptuti, to which il gives mime, mid 111 eels the sea in a lotely esluary,
ramplrtely landlocked by tin' htiphls el Weuibury, Newton Ferrers, and llevelatoke, no
Uloltam, »t full tide, two kikes of singular beauty.

The Emit, or Ann e, takes it! rise suulli of Outer's Beam, about a mile and a half
foro Pljm H<i»d. It passes Harford church in its way to Ivybrirlge, (lows by Erraington,
to whith it gives name, and falls into Highiiry Bay itt Molhecorobe.

ivks 01 Auric (which seems lo huve been the nntieut appellation) has
"1 imirce 011 the highest part of the southern table-land, north of Catcr'f) Beam, near
Purr's Bomidstone. Thence it flows southward, tu Breiil, Avon Bridge, and Deplford,
'"res Modbury on the right, ami Uowini; by L<><idiawe!l, gives inline 10 Aveion, or Anton
Gilnrd, where it expands into nn estuary, and (alls into Biglury Bay, near Burr Island.
• SoUi to Cabbimcton's Dartmoor.

■■ his sung the fate uf the ill-slarr'i! sportsman in a spirited ballad, etiti-
<W Childe the Hunter, which concludes in the follow-intf stanzas :—
Yet one dear wish, — one lender thought

Came o'er that hunter brave, ~

To sleep at last in hallow'd ground,
And find a Christian grate.

166 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

"Now whatever," observes Mrs. Bray, "modern critics may
think of the rhyme, it soon appeared that the monks of Tavistock
found there was reason in it, and good reason, too, that they should
constitute themselves heirs of old Childe ; for soon hearing that he
was frozen to death, somewhere near Crockern Tor, they set their
wits and hands to work to give him as speedily as possible an honour-
able sepulchre."

" But as the heirship was thus left vague and open to competition,
there were others who thought themselves quite as much, if not
more, entitled to succeed than the friars, and these were the good
people of Flymstock, in whose parish the lands in question had their
standing ; and though not invited to the funeral, yet out of respect
to the old gentleman, or more probably to his acres, they not only
determined to invite themselves, but also to try how far club-law
might settle the heirship in their favour ; and so taking post at a
certain bridge, over which they conceived the corpse must of neces-
sity be carried, they came to the resolution to arrest the body out
of the hands of the holy men by force, if no better settlement of the
matter could be effected."

" The friars, however, were men of peace, and had no mind, may
be, to take up any weapon sharper than their wits ; since, as
Dr. Fuller says, when speaking of this adventure, € they must rise
betimes, or rather not go to bed at all, that will overreach the monks
in matter of profit;' for these cunniffg brothers, apprehensive of
losing their precious relics, cast a slight bridge over the river aft
another place, and thus crossing with the corpse, they left the men
of Plymstock the privilege of becoming, very sincerely, the chief
mourners, whilst they interred old Childe in their own abbey church,
and according to his last will took possession of his lands.'** "In
memory whereof," says Bisdon, " the bridge beareth the name of
Guile Bridge to this day ;" but, according to Mrs. Bray, €€ is now
more commonly known by the name of the Abbey Bridge," which
crosses the Tavy at the south entrance of the town, by the old
Plymouth road. As the Childe was buried at Tavistock, his monu-
ment in the Forest wilds must have been a cenotaph. It is said to
have existed till within the last thirty or forty years, and then to have

* Tamar and Tavy, vol. ii., p. 54.

IXACYWELL FOOL.

1(57

hi. u destroyed by the grantee of a new-take ; but there are many
discrepancies in the current accounts, which it is difHcult to reconcile ;
yet the story claims insertion, as one of the characteristic traditions
of the moor, where, from time to time, many benighted and bewil-
dered wanderers have lost their lives on the bleak and trackless waste.

We shall proceed from Siward's Cross, in our return to the
tributaries of the Mew, or western branch of the Plym, in search
of Clncy Well, or Crazy Well Fool. A rough moor-track comes up
the valley from Sheepstor and Leather Tor, and on the right of this
rood, as we advance westward, we shall observe a miniature ravine in
the common, down which runs a noisy rivulet. By following this
stream upwards from the road, we shall soon reach the pool, S.E.
of Stanlake, S.W. of Cramber Tor, and within a short distance of
the Devonport Ieat. Clacywell is a large pool, or sheet of water,
■which, I was informed, covers an acre of ground. Along the verge
of the banks on the top, 1 found the measurement to be three hun-
dred and forty-six yards. From this part, which is level witli the
adjacent common, the banks slope rapidly down to the margin of the
pool. On the cast side the bank is almost perpendicular, and is
nearly one hundred feet high. At the lowest part it is, at least, thirty,
■Slept on the south where the water finds an outlet. All the banks
we covered with heather and other moor plants, like the neigh-
Wring common; but there can be little doubt that the greater part
of the hollow is an artificial excavation, and that the moormen's
notioa of it is probably correct in the main, that it was "an old
n ining pit." They will also relate that the pit has no bottom,
■emse the bell ropes of Waking ton (Walkhampton) church tower
*»e once tied together and let down to try the depth, but no bottom
"ml<l he found. But unfortunately for this legend, its credit was
flinch damaged in the hot summer of 1844, when the pool was
AMrly drained dry, to supply the deficiencies of the neighbouring
leal.

In our progress from Siward's Cross we shall probably not have

materially from the course of the perambulation. The

| I- described as running lineally to Little His worth ie, i.e. I

I lessary Tor. But we have now reached a tract rich in

"Equities, and must not pass onwards without a careful examination

which will be found at one of the head springs of the Mew,

168 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

near Black Tor, which rises about twelve furlongs south-west of Hessary.

The tor itself, on a near approach, forms a striking object. An
immense block, resting slightly on the main pile, has much of the
appearance of a logan-stone. On the edge of this mass, is a rock-
basin, of an irregular oval form, two feet eight by one foot ten.
Nearly a furlong from the tor in the glen below, on the eastern
bank of the stream, are a pair of avenues which are only forty feet
apart, and run parallel to each other, east and west. They are
formed of stones two feet and a half high, and each is terminated
at the east end by a circle, thirty-six feet in diameter, consisting of
fifteen stones, inclosing a cairn. A stream forms the western termi-
nation of both these parallelithons ; the southern can be traced about
one hundred and eighty feet, and the northern, which is more-perfect
and distinct, three hundred. The stones at the head of the avenues
are of larger dimensions than the others, as in other examples.
Between the northern avenue and the stream is a cairn. Another
will be observed at the extremity of the southern, but very imperfect
It is somewhat remarkable that these avenues have escaped entire
demolition, as they are intersected diagonally by an old stream-work.

On the slope of an adjacent hill is a Pound, or circumvallation
of an irregular form, three hundred and sixty yards in circumference,
inclosing nine hut-circles of the ordinary description. Nearly oppo-
site Stanlakc Farm, on the same hill, fronting westward, is another
Pound of similar character, but not more than two-thirds the size
of the former. Within and without the fence are many hut-circles.
On the eastern side flows a brooklet, which appears to have been
diverted from the natural channel, below the Pound.

Proceeding northward, towards Hessary, we shall reach the
high road from Plymouth to Prince Town. In the immediate neigh-
bourhood of an anticnt stream-work, we shall observe a number
of hut-circles close to the highway. There are many others on the
slope of the opposite hill eastward, the foundation slabs very perfect,
with the door-jambs standing. North-west of these is a cairn con-
taining a dilapidated kistvaen. Following the road, from hence we
shall soon arrive at Prince Town, where, or at Two Bridges, distant
scarcely two miles, we shall find accommodation for the night, and a
central position, from which a great number of interesting objects
may be conveniently visited.

CHOCKF.RN TOR STANNARY COURTS.

169

Foremost amongst these is Crockern Tor, which we shall reach
proceeding from Two Bridges, along the Moreton turnpike-road,
im which town it is distant about eleven miles. This tor has long
en celebrated as one of the wonders of the Forest, although there
e numerous other objects, of far greater interest in reality, which
,ve been passed without notice by those who have commemorated
e antient Parliament Rock. Yet, if Polwbele's conjecture deserves
iv credit, faint as are the existing vestiges of by-gone ages which
will repay the antiquary's investigations at Crockern Tor, the charm
of association will not be wanting to impart interest to the scene.
Our provincial historian having fixed the scat of judicature for his
cantred of Durius, at Grimspound, assigns Crockern Tor as the site
of the supreme court of the cantred of Tamara. To these antient
courts of justice, if such these were, Polwhele traces the origin of
the stannary parliaments of Devon and Cornwall, which he affirms
were similar in every point of resemblance to the old British
courts." He observes that "Crockern Tor, from its situation in the
middle of Dartmoor Forest, is undoubtedly a very strange place for
holding meetings of any kind. Exposed as it is to the severities
of the weather, and distant as it always has been, within our own
times and the memory of man, from every human habitation, we
might well be surprised, that it should have been chosen for the spot
on which our laws were to be framed, unless some peculiar sanctity
bad been attached to it, in consequence of its appropriation to legal
or judicial purposes, from the earliest antiquity. Besides, there is
no other instance, that I recollect, within our own times, of such a
court, in so exposed and so remote a place. On this tor, not long
Mice, was the warden's or president's chair, seats for the jurors, a
nigh corner stone for the crier of the court, and a table, all rudely
bewn out of the rough moorstone of the tor, together with a cavern
*hich, for the convenience of our modern courts, was used, in these
latter ages, as a repository for wine. Notwithstanding this pro-
*i«on, indeed, Crockern Tor was too cold and dreary a place for our
legislators of the last generations ; who, after opening their com-
mission and swearing the jurors on this spot, merely to keep up
"ie old formalities, usually adjourned the court to one of the stan-
nary towns."

That Crockern Tor was long the place, where the hardy

170 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

stannators of the moorlands held their conventions, must be received
as an established historical fact, whatever may be thought of our
author's hypothesis of the original choice of the spot for judicial
purposes. Our older topographers notice the circumstance. Prince,
who wrote in the year 1697, records that Crockern Tor, in the
Forest of Dartmoor, was the place " where the parliament is wont
to be held for stannary causes ; unto which the four principal stan-
nary towns, Tavistock, Plimton, Ashburton, and Chagford, send
each twenty-four burgesses, who are summoned thither, when the
Lord Warden of the Stannaries sees occasion, where they enact
statutes, laws, and ordinances, which, ratified by the Lord Warden
aforesaid, arc in full force in all matters, between tinner and tinner,
life and limb excepted. This memorable place is only a great rock
of moorstone, out of which a table and seats are hewn, open to all
the weather, storms, and tempests, having neither house nor refuge
near it, by divers miles. The borough of Tavistock is said to be the
nearest, and yet that is distant ten miles off." *

It would, perhaps, be incorrect to say that no traces whatever of
this celebrated hypaethral court can now be detected; but on careful
examination they will be found to be lamentably slight, if not de-
cidedly equivocal. The common report, that the most remarkable
objects, such as the table and seats, were removed and destroyed
by the workmen of Sir Francis Buller, then the owner of the neigh-
bouring estate of Prince Hall, has been condemned by the annotatoro
on Carrington's Dartmoor, as a calumny, although the Rev. E. Bray
affirms f that the allegation is so far confirmed by the fact of his
finding at Dennabridge, (the place whither the stannary tables is
reported to have been carried,) a tabular moorstone, eight feet long
by nearly six wide, which the farmer at Dennabridge stated, from
his own knowledge, to have been there fifty years ; and that he had
heard it was brought from Crockern Tor about eighty years ago. In
the first volume of Mrs. Bray's Letters, is an amusing account of
Mr. Bray's pursuit of the lost relic in 1831, and of its alleged discovery
at Dennabridge Farm, near the well-known drift-pound of that name
on the banks of the West Dart. In 1835 I obtained some information

* Chagford and Ashburton are about the same distance.

f Mr. Bray, however, exculpates Judge Buller, and thinks the spoliation msyb0
attributed to a former Reeve of the Forest

DKNNAHHHKiE l'olJS!).

171

from a moorland patriarch, near the spot, who staled that he had lived
on the moor sixty years, and had been in the service of Judge Buller.
He remembered, perfectly well, when there was a chair, or stone
seat, at Crockern Tor, with four or five steps to go up to it, and that
overhead, there was a large flat thinnish stone. These were all
by degrees removed for building ; the last of them having been
taken away, as well as he could remember, about twenty years
before that time.

With these recollections in our mind, let us descend from
Crockern Tor, and strike across the common over Chcrrybrook, to
Dennabridge Pound, on the Asbburton road. Immediately within
the entrance is a stone scat, which, if my aged informant's account of
the judge's stannary chair be accurate, would present an appearance
greatly similar to that venerable relic before it was demolished.
Although others may be unable to discover in Dennabridge, those
unequivocal evidences of aboriginal antiquity, which were so satis-
factory to Mr. Bray, the conclusions to which a practised observer
was led, on personal examination, will not fad to be interesting.
" Had I any doubt before, that the pound was erected on the base
of an antient British, or rather Celtic, circle, I could not entertain
il now, for I have not the slightest doubt of the high antiquity
i>f this massy chair." After speaking of the Reeve, (the probable
despoiler of Crockern Tor,) he adds, " but I am fully convinced that
originally designed for a much greater personage; no less,
perhaps, than an Arcbdruid, or President, of some court of judica-
ture.*" Dennabridge Pound occupies a large area, inclosed by a
rough moorstonc wall. It is now used for the forest drifts, and is
capable of containing vast numbers of cattle.

Dennabridge adjoins the Ashburton road, which we shall follow,
until we cross a small tributary of the Dart. Near this rivulet, on
the common, east of the road, is an aboriginal village inclosure, but
without any remains of hut-circles within the area. We have now
again approached the Forest bounds, at the junction of the East and
South Quarters, on the West Dart, We therefore return over the
common, near the rivulet above mentioned, with Loughtor about
balf-a-mile north. From hence, we can make our way through a

172

PERAMBULATION OV DARTMOOR.

succession of inclosed common lands to Belle vor Tor, below v
on the S.S.W., is a huge moorstone slab, raised about nine inches
above the natural rock on which it stands, so as to be mode easily to
vibrate. This is, probably, one of the many similar masses on the
moor which have fortuitously assumed the lagan character. Should
we search for rock-basins on this conspicuous tor, we shall be disap-
pointed; but the venerable pile affords a fine central station, from
whence a noble panoramic view of the moor is obtained. Holne
Lee, southward ; Hessary, Great Mis tor, Longaford Tor, west ; Sitia-
ford, north; Hamildon, Houndtor, and Rippon Tor, east; with
Buckland Beacon, Quarnian "Down, and Yartor, south-west ; and ■
vast extent of waste, are the characteristic objects by which, on all
sides, we are surrounded. In the name of Bellevor, as well as in
Belstonc and Beltor, many, with Polwhele, have imagined that they
can discover traces of the idol worship of the antient Britons, and
proofs of the eastern origin of their religion, supposing these places
to have been so designated, from the celebrated oriental deity, Bel,
or Baal.

Descending from the tor, northward, we cross a moor-road
leading from the turnpike to Bellevor Farm. Crossing this road
to the common opposite, we shall find many aboriginal relics on
Lakehead Hill. On the higher part of the eminence is a congeries
of stones, possibly the ruins of a very large kistvaen, one of the side-
stones being about six feet in length. At the east end, the stone is
fallen, and the cover is also displaced. On the same hill, about a
furlong N.W., is a kistvaen in great perfection. The sides, which
are about four feet four inches long, by one foot nine, stand fifteen
inches above the ground. Another kistvaen, at no great distance,
will be observed in connexion with a cairn, as in other places. We
return to the rough moor-road, and having noticed, on the descent
opposite Bellevor, a circle, twenty yards in circumference, shall
proceed by Bellevor Farm (one of the oldest moor-farms in the
Forest) to Bellevor Bridge adjoining. Below the modern structure
over the East Dart, are the remains of an aboriginal Cyclo]
bridge of three openings. The rude piers and abutments still r>
and one massive granite slab still spans each of the eastern i
western openings ; but the centre stone has been displaced, and no
trace of it appears in the stream below. This primitive bridge a

structure
yclopeu.
1 remain,
tern and

anil tin

AKCHEHTON.

173

up the stream, but the stones
large, measuring only twelve

similar to that at Post Bridge, high
which span the waterway are not
feet six in length.

From hqnee, passing over Redridge Down, where we shall notice
a circular inclosure in a very imperfect state, we shall proceed to the
Wallabrook, above which Quarnian Tor rises on the south-eaBt. Ill
this direction we shall observe many cairns, but none sufficiently
remarkable to detain us from our progress up the Wallabrook, for
the purpose of tracing the line of perambulation from hence to
King's Oven, where we left it in our former excursion. (See page
l~f>. j Having observed the cairn which, on the summit of the
eminence, marked this well-ascertained boundary, and exercised
our ingenuity, as others have done, in endeavouring to find some
relics which would account for this curious designation, we shall
direct our course westward, and leaving Mcrripit Hill on the right,
shall proceed to Post Bridge, on the East Dart. The aboriginal
bridge has been already described ; but when we observe that this is
the scene of considerable agricultural improvements, and that many
dwellings have been erected in the immediate neighbourhood, we shall
be as much surprised as pleased, to find that this venerable relic of
primitive times has escaped demolition, and has been preserved to a
period when a more enlightened appretiatiou of national antiquities
extensively prevails. We shall remark that the antient structure
bears more east and west than the modern bridge, and probably thus
points to the great central trackway which passes over Chittaford
Down. We may hope that in future, this antient British structure
will be under the protection of a neighbouring gentleman, who,
whilst he has proved himself one of the most successful, as well as
one of the most enterprising, improvers of the moor, has displayed
the most laudable anxiety for the preservation of the remains of
antiquity. At Archerton, on the Dart, just above Post Bridge,
Mr. J. N. Bennett, of Plymouth, under a grant from the Duchy,
has inclosed a considerable tract of land, in the centre of which he
has built a comfortable residence. On the slope in front of the
bouse are some antiquities of great interest, which are now protected
within a recently erected fence. The remains of a singularly formed
elliptical inclosure can be traced, with an entrance on the south-cast,
*herc the oval outline, instead of being continuous, is bent into two

174 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

circular sweeps, between which, apparently, was the original entrance
to the inclosure. Within are vestiges of tracklines, and the ruins
of an aboriginal hut, where not only the formation but the remains
of the walls are still to be seen. Some years since, it presented the
most perfect specimen of a ruined British habitation, of more solid
construction than those generally found on the moor, as this appeared
to have been constructed of stone, the interstices being filled with
sod, and to have had a roof of the bee-hive, or domical form.
Within the inclosure are other antient remains, and in the immediate
vicinity, relics of kistvaens, more or less perfect. One of these
primitive sepulchres may be particularly noticed, as it is surrounded
by an external circle eight feet in diameter. The kistvaen itself
measures four feet six inches by four feet three.

Between the boundary of Mr. Bennett's estate and the Dart,
a moor-track runs north, towards Hamlyn's New-take, where we
shall notice several hut-circles. Still proceeding along the high
ground, above the valley of the Dart, we shall observe in Templer's
New-take, opposite Hartland Tor, and about a mile above Post
Bridge, a Cyclopean circumvallation, which deserves the name of a
miniature Grimspound ; but, unfortunately, its rampart is much less
perfect, having been demolished on the N.W. and partially built
upon for the purpose of forming a modern fence, which intersects the
area on this side. A large segment of the circular inclosure, how-
ever, still remains, forming a sweep below the new-take wall, two
hundred and twenty-four yards in length. The original base of the
wall, or rampart, appears to have been about twelve feet wide ; in
some parts of the circumvallation, it has more the appearance of a
wall than usual, as the stones are piled upon each other instead
of being heaped up promiscuously. On the north side, the rampart
re-appears beyond the new-take wall, but here the spoliation has
been lamentable. We shall notice a large hut-circle with others
of smaller dimensions, and the whole forms one of the most striking
and interesting objects in the Forest.

Passing over Broad Down and Ladehill, we shall notice several
cairns on the heights, and, turning southwards, shall cross Chittaford
Down beyond the inclosed lands of Archerton. Here we shall trace,
without difficulty, the trackway already described, as it passes from
the East Dart westward, over the common, to Waydown Tor. From

I

hence we shall scale the steep acclivity of the long ridge which runs
between Cherrybrook and the West Dart, and terminates in an
inland promontory at Crockem Tor. This ridge is fortified by a
range of tors in succession, of which the most conspicuous are
Longaford, Betor, and White, or Whitten Tor. On some are rock-
basins, and, near Longaford, a hut-circle of the usual dimensions.
Of these relics, we shall observe many more groups, and a pound
of irregular form, on the western slope of the hill, above the narrow
vale of the West Dart, and near the " lonely wood of Wistman."

Wistman's Wood is the third of Risdon's " three remarkable
things" in the Forest of Dartmoor. By him, it is described as con-
sisting of " some acres of wood and trees that arc a fathom about,
and yet no taller than a man may touch the top with his hand."
The general description of this third wonder of Dartmoor, is iu
sufficient accordance with its present condition to warrant the con-
clusion that the lapse of more than two centuries has not materially
changed its aspect, and that probably for a much longer period it has
presented the same singular appearance as now. The traditionary
account that the wood was planted by Isabella de Fortibus, Countess
of Devon and Albemarle, in the thirteenth century, has been related
by some authors ; but, as Mr, Bray justly remarks, " to any one who
has visited the spot, it is evident, no other hand has planted it thau
that of God."'* Nor can there be any reasonable doubt, that here
we behold the poor relics of those sylvan honours which we may
reasonably conclude once graced many of the moorland vales and
acclivities, without contending that the entire district (whose soil, as
Dr. Moore t has shown, is unfavourable to the growth of trees,) was
at any period one continuous forest, hi the ordinary acceptation of
the term.

The whole world cannot boast, probably, a greater curiosity, in
sylvan archaeology, than this solitary grove in the Devonshire wilder-
ness. AVordsworth has celebrated the characteristic yews of the
Lakelands, in his description of the " Fraternal Four of Borrowdale ;"
but whilst venerable yews may be found in a thousand English sanc-

• Tamar and Tavy, vol. i., p. 102. This gentleman also refers to a Perambulation
of (he Hoar, (made immediately after the conquest, slid still preserved among the
Records of [he Duchy,) to prorc that" Wistman's Wood was, even at that remole period,
much the same as it now appears."

t Appendix, No. iii., p. 217.

176 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

tuaries, the antient storm-stricken oaks of Wistman are without
recorded parallel. Viewed from the opposite steep, when sullen
clouds have lowered down upon Longaford Tor, and shut out all
surrounding objects, — when mist-wreaths half shroud and half reveal
their hoary branches and moss-covered trunks, — there is something
almost unearthly in their aspect Our native bard has however chosen
the profound sunlit repose of a moorland noon (and it is only in
the shelterless solitudes of the moor, amidst the quivering rack of
a heated atmosphere, that the truthfulness and beauty of his- imagery
can be appretiated,) as most perfectly in keeping with the old mys-
terious grove which had lived perhaps more than a thousand years,
but had not grown for centuries.

How heavily
That old wood sleeps in the sunshine ; — not a leaf
Is twinkling, not a wing is seen to move
Within it ; — but, below, a mountain stream,
Conflicting with the rocks, is ever heard,
Cheering the drowsy noon.

Of this grove,
This pigmy grove, not one has climb'd the air,
So emulonsly that its loftiest branch
May brush the traveller's brow. The twisted roots
Have clasp'd, in search of nourishment, the rocks,
And straggled wide, and pierc'd the stony soil : —
In vain, denied maternal succour, here
A dwarfish race has risen. Round the boughs
Hoary and feeble, and around the trunks,
With grasp destructive, feeding on the life
That lingers yet, the ivy winds, and moss
Of growth enormous. E'en the dull vile weed
Has fix'd itself upon the very crown
Of many an antient oak ; and thus, refus'd
By Nature kindly aid,— dishonour^— old —
Dreary in aspect, — silently decays
The lonely wood of Wistman.

To add to this sketch, faithful and graphic as it is, would be
superfluous and impertinent. It will be only necessary to state, that
the account of the stature of the trees must be taken with due

wistman 's wood. 177

allowance for poetical license. Ten feet might be more correctly
given as the average height of the trees, — nor can the wood be said
to be silently decaying. Although it is probable that the trees have
not increased in height, for many an age, yet these dwarf patriarchs
of the Forest produce bud, leaf, and acorn, in their season. The
grove extends along the rocky declivity, about four hundred yards in
length, and is less than one hundred in the widest part. If in other
spots, led by the evidence of the pillar'd circle, the lustral basin, or
the oracular logan, we are carried back in imagination, to the age
and ceremonial of a mysterious and sanguinary ritual, — surely this
antient oaken grove, whose age outdatcs tradition and history, and
which is such an anomaly in physiology, as to baffle scientific calcu-
lation, might have itself been a favourite resort of the hierophants
of Druidism, and might have sheltered the last of the Danmonian
priesthood, who, in these secluded wilds of the west, might have
found an asylum from the vengeance of the exasperated Roman.
But it is not a little curious that among the aboriginal relics, in the
immediate neighbourhood, no sacred circle, no avenue, no logan, is
to be observed. Nor among all the parasitical plants which crowd
the branches of these venerable oaks, — the most sacred tree of
Druidism, — has the far-famed misletoe ever been discovered.* Yet
would this consideration not be sufficient to detract from the claims
of Wistman to be regarded as the remnant of a Druidical grove,
especially since we learn, from an antient contemporary writer, f that
the misletoe, even then, was scarce, and seldom to be met with, on
the oak in particular. Hence, when found, they gather it with great
devotion and many ceremonies. But the same author informs us
that whatever the Druids found growing on the oak, parasitically,
whether misletoe or other plants, they esteemed as a Divine gift, and
as a token that their god had made that tree his peculiar choice.
If then the Wistman oaks were draperied with the same exoteric
garniture as at present, they must have been regarded by the Druids

* Although the misletoe is plentifully produced on the apple tree in the neighbouring
county of Somerset, it is remarkable that, in Devonshire, it is scarcely known as an
indigenous plant. After numerous inquiries, I have never been able to discover more
***n one specimen of the misletoe growing in Devon or Cornwall. On an apple tree, in
tta orchard at Higher Fordton, Grediton, in an estate belonging to James Wentworth
Boiler, Esq., of Downes, there is at this time a thriving specimen of this interesting
plant, the greatest botanical curiosity probably in the county.

t Pliht, Nat. Hist., lib. xvi. 14.

178 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

with peculiar veneration. Nor can "imagination body forth" a
place more congenial to the sights and sounds of dark and blood-
stained rites, than this dreary, narrow, rock-strewn glen of the Dart
We can imagine the appointed Druid, on the natural watch-tower
afforded by the neighbouring tor, carefully marking the moment
when the moon has completed the sixth day of her age, — when
haply a misletoe has been found, in the grove below; — we follow
him to the tree, and there see him clothed in his robe of pure white;
and bearing the golden hook, reverently ascend the oak and cut the
plant, which is received by the assistant priests below with every
demonstration of gladness and awe.

Wistman's Wood is just such a place as the holy prophet of the
Most High describes, as one of the scenes of the idolatrous orgies
of the Israelites. Here are the oaks, here " the valleys under the
clifts of the rocks " where they sacrificed their children, — here " the
smooth stones of the stream among which was their portion." In
this spot too, might the Roman bard have found his original of the
grove, which he depicts as consecrated to the mystic ceremonies of
Druidism.

" Lucas erat longo nunquam violatos ab «vo,

Obscurum cingens conncxis aera ramis,

Et gelidas alte summotis solibus umbras.

Hunc non ruricoto Panes, nemorumque potentes

Silvani Nymphae que tenent, sed barbara ritu

Sacra Deum, structrc sacris feralibus arte

Omnis ct humanls lustrata cruoribus arbos." *

LUCAN.

The explorer of Wistman's Wood, should tread its rocky
labyrinth with some caution in summer, lest he should encounter

* " Not far away, for ages past, had stood
An old unviolated sacred wood ;
whose gloomy boughs, thick interwoven, made
A chilly, cheerless, everlasting shade ;
There, not the rustic gods nor satyrs sport,
Nor Fauns and Sy Ivans with the Nymphs retort;
But barbarous priests some dreadful Power adore.
And lustrate every tree with human gore." Rows.

Nicolas Rowe, the translator of Lucan, is alleged by some, (as observed bv Mrs. Bray,
Tamar and Tavp, vol. L, p. 98,) to have been born at Lamerton, near Tavistock, of
which parish his father was vicar. His version of this classic description of a Druidksi
grove, (as that of a Devonshire poet,) may be read with additional interest

somewhat unpleasant testimony to the accuracy of the resemblance,
in another particular noticed by the bard of the Pharsalia : —

Soboraqtie amplexos circuraflu xisse dracones.

Like many other sheltered glens, strewn with moors to tic, Wistman's
Wood has an evil reputation among the country people, as abounding
with noxious reptiles. It was accordingly represented to Mrs. Bray,
by a neighbouring moor-farmer, in the genuine vernacular, as
" j irlust old place sure enough, and as full of adders as can be."
The notion of rendering these reptiles harmless, by charming them
with an ashen wand, which still obtains among our peasantry, is
pronounced, by this lady, as " nothing less than a vestige of the
customs of Druid antiquity." We have already noticed the evident
connexion between Druidism and the Ophite rites, as traced in the
Dracontia, or serpent-temples, and in other particulars, and have
seen that these were probably corruptions of the purer forms of
Arkite worship. The celebrated anyuinum, or serpent's egg, may
also be mentioned, as bearing upon the subject, since it is alleged by
Davies, to have reference to Arkite mysteries. The rock-strewn glen,
— the dwarfish, mysterious looking grove, its growth as if suddenly
paralyzed by some malignant spell, — the dark river flowing beneath, —
the hut-circles, pillars, and cairns on the neighbouring heights, —
all forcibly lead to the conclusion that we are wandering amidst
scenes congenial to the spirit of Druiclism, and polluted of old by
the sanguinary rites of that mystic and terrible superstition. From
Wistman's Wood, we return by a path along the eastern bank of the
Dart, to the inn at Two Bridges, and there close our excursion
through the central parts of the Forest

On setting out for our next excursion northwards, we shall pass
the little river Cowsic at its confluence with the Dart, immediately
below Bairdown Hill, a long ridge of high ground with a series of
tors, along the summit, known by the names of Bairdown Tor,
Lidford and Devil Tor. Thero is nothing of particular mark or
in these tors, nor on the neighbouring common, except
Man, a rude granite obelisk, (similar to those already
,) eleven feet in height and eight feet in girth. In this
nilar designation of the rock-pillar, we shall doubtless discover
the original term Macn, and shall find in Bairdown Man another

180 PERAMBULATION OP DARTMOOR.

specimen of the Maen hir, or Long Upright Stone* Bairdown Hill
is peninsulated by the Dart on the east, and by the Cowsic on the
west. On the latter stream, near the confluence, we shall observe
the thriving plantations referred to by Dr. Moore, (Appendix, No. iL,
p. 212,) in proof of the agricultural capabilities of the more sheltered
parts of the moorlands. To the improvements at Bairdown Farm,
commenced by the late Mr. Bray, may be attributed much that has
been done to reclaim portions of the moor ; but it must be admitted
that the sheltered dell, on the western side of the down, presented
facilities which are not to be met with in less favoured situations.
The farm is now in the possession of Mr. Frean, of Plymouth, who,
as it has been already remarked, is successfully engaged in agricultural
improvements in this part of the Forest.

But the tourist will find "metal more attractive" in tracing the
course of the stream, as it foams along amidst the huge blocks of
granite with which its channel is studded, until he comes to the antaent
bridge, by which it is crossed, in the dell below Bairdown Farm.
Our best acknowledgments are due to the provident care of some
lover of antiquity, (I presume the Rev. E. H. Bray,) for the effectual
manner in which it has been preserved from injury, by iron braces
which hold together the granite blocks. It is in excellent preser-
vation, and, though on a smaller scale than some others, is not the less
interesting as a specimen of British architecture. It consists of five
openings ; it is thirty-seven feet in length, and somewhat less than
four feet in average breadth. The roadway is scarcely three feet and
a half from the water, under ordinary circumstances.

"We leave the vale of the Cowsic, and proceed over the common
westward to a clam, or single-stone bridge, thrown over the Blacka-
brook, a stream which rises below Great Mistor, and falls into the
"West Dart between Two Bridges and Prince Hall. At a short dis-
tance from this primitive bridge, in a rushy swamp, is a structure of
mediaeval antiquity, which has excited some speculation, and no little
discussion, as to the date which should be assigned for its erection.
This is Fice's Well, thus commemorated by the writer in Blackwood's
Magazine, quoted above, (Preface, p. ii.) "What a strange little
edifice ! Interior and sides of granite. Inscription, (which must be
a lie,) 1168." The inscription which has given rise to the suppo-
sition that the well was erected in the twelfth century, is on the front

F1CE S WELL.

181

edge of the cover-stone ; but whilst an unpractised observer might
have misread the second figure of tiie date for 1, it is difficult to
imagine how any one who had been conversant with similar inscrip-
tions could have been so misled. The letters are in low relief,
inscribed in a kind of panel on the face of the stone above the well,
and there is no doubt that the true date is 1568. The cover -stone is
three feet nine by three feet three, the opening about two feet square,
and the well scarcely three feet in depth.

In 1827, wc read the date without difficulty as 1568, and it is
scarcely probable that the correspondent of Blackwood, who wrote
in 1839, would have found it so much obliterated, in the course of
Six years, as to have mistaken 5 for 1, unless he had been previously
led to suppose that the date was 1168. Mr. Bray, who examined it
in 1831, justly remarks that it would appear more or less distinct,
according as it might happen to be viewed in full sunshine or in
shadow. This author assigns good reasons for supposing that the
true designation is Fitze's and not Fice's Well. " I think it most
likely that Fitze's Well was constructed by John Fitz, the old lawyer
and astrologer of Fitzford, whose traffic with the stars, in foretelling
of his only son, is still the theme of tradition." In addition
to the evidence adduced by Mr. Bray, from old records, in con-
firmation of this conjecture, Mrs. Bray records the following legend
of the origin of Fice's Well, which is too interesting to be omitted.

" John Fitz the astrologer and his lady, were once pixy-led,
whilst riding on Dartmoor. After long wandering in the vain effort
to find the right path, they felt so fatigued and thirsty, that it was
with extreme delight they discovered a spring of water, whose
powers seemed to be miraculous; for no sooner had they satisfied
;;•!. than they were enabled to find their way through the
moor towards home, without the least difficulty. In gratitude for
this deliverance, and the benefit they had received from the water,
old John Filz caused the stone memorial in question, bearing the date
of ihc year, to be placed over the spring, for the advantage of all
pixy-fftl travellers. It is still considered to possess many healing
>ntnf-."

Following the course of the Blackabrook downwards, wc shall
observe just below the Plymouth road, near Prince Town, a Cyclo-
pean bridge of two openings, of smaller dimensions, but of similar

182 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

character to those already described. Should the tourist be anxious
to examine the agricultural improTements made by the late Sir
Thomas Tyrwhitt, at Tor Royal/ a short walk will bring him there.
He will also have an opportunity of visiting the celebrated War
Prison, at Prince Town, (described in Appendix, No. vii.,) as well as
Messrs. Johnson's extensive granite quarries at Fogginton. But the
antiquary, following the Tavistock road to Bendlestone, will proceed
along the highway, to examine the large and interesting group of
aboriginal relics near Merivale Bridge, at the spot popularly known
in the neighbourhood, as the Plague Market. Here it is traditionally
reported, during a pestilence which prevailed at Tavistock, (sup-
posed by Mr. Bray to have been in 1625, when the burials in the
parish register amounted to 522,) provisions were brought for sale
from the neighbouring country, at a safe distance from the infected
precincts of the town.

But to whatever purpose these venerable monuments might
have been applied, there can be no doubt that, originally, they were
erected by the earliest inhabitants of our island, and that here will
be found the remains of one of the most important aboriginal settle-
ments in the west. At our visit, in 1827, we found, in addition to
the avenues, or parallelithons, and sacred circles, specimens of almost
all the other monuments of aboriginal antiquity. The town, or vil-
lage, is within half-a-mile of the river Walkham, which is crossed by
Merivale Bridge in the valley below. Its site is on the slope of the
common, inclining to the south-west, and the ground over which the
circular foundations of houses are scattered, is of considerable
extent

But among all other relics, the parallelithons will immediately .
strike the observer as the characteristic feature of the place. By the
learned explorer of Carnac, they would be described as undoubted
parts of a Dracontium, or serpent-temple, but whether their presumed
Ophite character be admitted or not, there can be little doubt that
they were constructed by our Pagan forefathers, for the purposes of
religious worship. Their direction is towards the river, and they

* Tor Royal was entirely formed by him in 1798, with its adjoining fields, planta-
tions, and garden, to which there was no road when he undertook the work, but he toon
made one, as well aa another for uniting the Plymouth with the Tavistock road. In
short, to Sir Thomas all the modern improvements on Dartmoor must be referred.—
Notes to Carrimotom's Dartmoor.

MISTOR BRITISH TOWN.

183

mediate connexion with sacxcd circles ; tlie northern ter-
ing in one circle, and the southern having another at mid-
length. It will also be observed that they are in apparent relative
connexion with a large sacred circle and lofty maen on the south.
From these circumstances, the avenues will afford the best central
station for describing the position of the several objects which will
engage the attention of the antiquary.

These avenues run east and west parallel to each other, one
bandied and five feet apart; the longest, eleven hundred and forty-
ihree feet, the other nearly eight hundred. The former has the
circle in the centre, and at either extremity a stone of larger dimen-
sions than those in the lines. The western half of this parallelithon
is divided at mid-length by a higher stone, and ends with two stones
which have been thrown down. About twenty-four yards from the
south avenue is a small dilapidated cairn ; and one hundred yards
south, a circle sixty-seven feet in diameter, consisting of ten stones.
Near this is a fine specimen of the maen, or rock-pillar, described
■bore, (p. 40,) and near the avenues, the ruins of a prostrate crom-
lech. The quoit, ten feet six by five feet four, has been dislodged
from its three supporters. N.E. by N". of the avenues is a Cyclopean
inclosure, or pound, differing essentially from Grimspound and
others, in the construction of the wall ; this consisting chiefly, though
not entirely, of upright stones, while in many other examples they
are rudely piled together. Advantage has been taken of the natural
position of some huge blocks in forming this singular fence, the
form of which approaches, though imperfectly, to a circle, the
diameter of which is one hundred and seventy-five feet. At the
upper, or east end, is a vast block, large enough to form one of the
sides of an interior rectangular inclosure; having remains of walls at
right angles, suggesting the idea of a resemblance to the adytum
within the Druidical circle near Keswick. Thirty feet from this
inclosure, a large quoit-like stone, sixteen feet by nine feet eight,
and three others, have all the appearance of supporters, with their
impost, — the ruins probably of a second cromlech of very large
dimensions. There are hut-circles within and immediately without
the inclosure, which are of a large size, as well as many others
throughout the town. The ruins extend about a mile along the side
of the hill, from the highest point of which Great Mistor majestically

184 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

overlooks the whole, and may therefore with perfect propriety claim
the right of giving name to this curious and interesting monument
of the aboriginal occupancy of our island, as the Mistor town, or
village, since the perambulators also describe this part of the Forest
as Mistor moor.

As we have again reached the line of perambulation, let us
follow its direction as it passes from North Hcssary Tor to Mistor
Pan.* The designation, thus employed by the perambulators, was
evidently adopted by them from popular usage. Hence it is clear
that the singularly perfect rock-basin on the summit of Mistor, has
existed in its present state for centuries, and has been regarded as
the characteristic feature of the tor, from time immemorial. It can
therefore scarcely be deemed a forced inference, if (taking into
account the information we possess with regard to Druidical rites,
and the existence of other relics, which are known to belong to the
period of Druidism,) we conclude that Mistor Fan is an artificial
excavation of high antiquity, and can scarcely be attributed to the
action of the elements, and the disintegration of the granite block, in
this particular part. The basin is in a remarkably perfect state, three
feet in diameter, eight inches deep, and with its perpendicular sides
and flat bottom, suggesting to the moormen the idea of one of their
dairy milk-pans, hewn out of the massive rock.

In our ascent to the top of Great Mistor, we shall pass an antient
stream-work on the side of the hill of considerable extent. We shall
also observe Little Mistor, in our progress, which may be noticed
for its presenting a rude resemblance to a vase of colossal magni-
tude. On reaching Mistor Pan we shall command a magnificent
prospect along the western border; but among the many interesting
objects which open to the view, Vixen Tor and the vale of the
Walkham immediately below, will not fail to arrest the attention.
Looking down the woodland gorge, between Walkhampton and
Sampford Spiney, the eye at length rests upon that part of the noble
estuary of the Tamar above Saltash, where it expands into a broad
lake at the confluence of the Tavy with its waters, near Beer Ferrers.
To the voyager up the Tamar, when he arrives abreast of Warleigh

* From thence linyallie to another Histworthie, and so from thence Unyallie
through the midst of Mistor moore, to a rock called Mistorpann. Perambulation 1606L

■ i hi: uai.mum.

185

us Maria tow, Mister rises with all the grandeur of »
genuine mountain in the purple distance, nor could a more favourable
point of view perhaps lie chosen, for giving a stranger a just impres-
sion of the elevation of our Dartmoor hills * than this part of the
Tamar estuary, or the Cornish bank of the river on the north pre-
cincts of the town of Saltasli.

Leaving the summit of Mistor, we shall reach the banks of the
W;dkham immediately below, by a steep descent, and finding our way
across its rocky channel, shall scale the opposite ridge, on which, in a
line parallel to the course of the river, rise a series of conspicuous
and remarkable tors. The northernmost of these is Rolls Tor, or
Roose Tor, next to which is Great Stapletor ; Middle Stapletor is
farther south, and Little Stapletor is on the declivity near an antient
*tieam-work of large extent. Seen from Roborough Down, and
some other points southward, these tors have a strong resemblance
to castellated ruins, and, on a nearer examination, will be found to
present many features of much interest. Some of the component
masses are granite slabs bearing the appearance of a cromlech quoit,
or impost. Other blocks appear to be so marvellously poised, as to
be ready to be toppled down by the impulse of the first upland
Morm ; and one has been thought to be a tolmen. f On the N.W.
pile of Great Stapletor is a rock-baain, sixteen inches in diameter,
and on Little Stapletor, near the edge of the highest and largest
block is another, two feet in diameter.

Continuing our southward course, we shall cross the road from
■ ■ k to Two Bridges, leaving Mcrivalc Bridge in the valley on
the left. From hence we shall observe Vixen Tor, not forming the
crest of an eminence ns is more frequently the case, but rising majes-
tically from the common, near the steep banks of the Walkham, about
a mile below Merivale Bridge. On a nearer approach, we shall remark
the rpsemblance which it bears to the Egyptian sphvnx, when beheld
from a particular point of view, ['routing the river the huge masses
of which the tor is composed are piled up tier after tier, in a rude
but noble facade, divided into three compartments by perpendicular

* Height of Mi^tur. 1 7 'ii.) feet, 05 deduced l>j Mr. Mc. Lauchlan from data obtained
during ihe TrigonometriunJ Survey. Da n Bkche.

f The Be* E. H. limy iinbeaitalinglji protrounces it to be a tolmen, •' On the same
poop of rocka is ■ lingular Draidical monument, or lolmcti, for mch I am convinced it is."
Timor and Topy. »ol. L, p. 'IVl

, through which an ascent to the summit can he effected,
■whereon appearances of rock-basins will be observed. The river-
front faces directly south, and this lofty rock is traditionally reported
to have been reported to in past times for astronomical purposes.
Vixen Tor, whether considered in itself, or with reference to the
striking scenery of which it forms the central object, is one of the
most interesting in the moorland district. The vale of the Walkham
presents a long-drawn mountain defile, stretching away to the south.
On the acclivity beyond Merivale Bridge eastward, is the aboriginal
town, above described, where the admirer of Scott's truthful pictures
of natural scenery may trace the main features of the Black Dwarfs
forlorn retreat on Mucklestane Moor. There is " the huge column
of unhewn granite raising its massy head on a knoll near the centre
of the heath, and the ground strewed, or rather encumbered, with
many large fragments of stone of the same consistence with the
column, which, as they lay scattered over the waste, were popularly
called the Gray Geese of Mucklestane Moor." And down the
stream southward, near Ward Bridge and Huckworthy Bridge, the
river, rock, and wood scenery is of the most fascinating description.
Should the tourist recross the Walkham, and follow the windings
of the Plymouth and Dartmoor railway, as it sweeps round the oppo-
site hill by King Tor and Crip Tor, he will be abundantly repaid by
a succession of views of wide extent and varied interest. Near the
point where the railway crosses the Plymouth and Prince Town road,
he will be struck with the peculiarly fine grouping of the tors, as he
looks towards the N.E. with the lofty steeple of Walkhampton rising
conspicuously from the acclivity in the foreground. Returning by
Walkhampton, he will leave the steep lane leading to the church,
und crossing a fine old moorstone stile, will find a pathway along the
fields, which commands the vale of the Walkham at some of the
most picturesque points. Far inferior as the accompanying mountain
elevations confessedly are, yet, in all other respects, the scenery of
this lovely glen may dispute the palm with the most celebrated spots
of North Wales or the Lakelands. This conviction will be deepened
by every step we take in the direction of Ward Bridge, by width
we shall cross the river, and having made a detour N.E. over the
common, to notice the rude time-worn cross called Beckamoor Cross,
near a rivulet on the plain, shall mount the lull half-a-niile north of

187

Sampford Spiney church, to visit Pewtor Bock, a frontier eminence
and one of the most interesting of all the moorland tors.

Pewtor is traditionally regarded as a Druidical court of judi-
cature, probably from the peculiar conformation of the granite masses
whereof it is composed. Raised by the hand of nature, these
masses form two divisions ; that on the east consists of four piles of
rock, standing at the four cardinal points, like huge bastions, con-
nected on the eastern and western aides by a rude breastwork or
curtain, but open to the north and south. On the north-west pile is
a series of rock-basins, irregularly disposed over the surface of the
granite mass. One on its northern margin is complete, and is fur-
nished with a lip, or spout, calculated to pour the water over the
edge. This basin communicates with a second, much broken, which
has a like communication with the third, of a more oval figure, and
is placed cast of the second, on the verge of the rock. Near the
western edge of the same mass, but detached from the others, is a
fourth basin, two feet in diameter and eleven inches deep. Standing
in the area of this hypaithral judgment-court, and looking southward,
the natural piles of mimic masonry form the frame of a landscape
of great extent and beauty, comprehending the bold uplands of
Boborough, the confluence of the Tavy and Tamar, and the Cornish
hills on the weBt. From hence a pleasant walk of two miles and a
half over Whitchurch Down, will bring ua to Tavistock, where we
■hall close our excursion at the Bedford Hotel, and the traveller
must be fastidious indeed, who would complain of the accommodation
he will find, at one of the beat inns, in one of the most interesting
country towns, in the west of England.

Nor will the explorer of Dartmoor forget that Tavietock is one
of the stannary towns, and that perhaps on the very spot where he
now "takes his ease in his inn," the earliest printed copy of the stan-
nary laws was struck off, a printing press having been established in
Tavistock Abbey soon after the introduction of the art of printing
into England. The inn is built within the antient precincts of the
monastery, nor will the antiquary depart on his next moorland excur-
sion without examining the existing remains of the largest and most
magnificent abbey in Devonshire. The noble gate-house and adjacent
buildings on the north-east, — " the ivied abbey wall along the very
brink of the Tavy, with rampart, battlement, and parapets, — the still-

188 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

house tower, and the turret known as Betsy Grimbal's tower, within
the vicarage premises, are among the most interesting vestiges of the
antient grandeur of this once famous monastery, which continued to
advance in wealth and dignity until its abbots took their place among
the mitred peers of the realm. The spacious church, with its lofty
steeple, under which will be observed the unusual feature of an
open arched passage, will also attract the traveller's attention, who
will not fail to commend the manner in which the interior has
been lately renovated. The old ungainly pews have all been re-
moved and have been replaced by oak seats of appropriate character.

At the western extremity of the town, just above the antient
mansion of Fitzford, the tourist will obtain a most pleasing view of
Tavistock and its immediate neighbourhood. The town, with the
church and abbey buildings, and some felicitously grouped trees, form
conspicuous objects in front ; on the right, the Tavy flows vigorously
down the vale, while a circling range of hills and tors form a noble
background. As a central point for visiting the various objects of
picturesque and antiquarian interest with which this part of Devon-
shire abounds, Tavistock cannot be surpassed. Many of the anti-
quities of Dartmoor in the Western Quarter, the moorland villages
of Marytavy and Fetertavy, the glens of the Walkham, Dedham
Bridge, Buckland Abbey, the picturesque hamlet of Milton, Maristow
on the Tavy, Morwell Grange, Morwell Bocks, Calstock church, the
Weir Head, Newbridge and Endsleigh on the Tamar, Brentor church,
Lydford Bridge, waterfalls and castle, are all within a circle of five
or six miles radius.

As a more detailed description of this interesting town and
neighbourhood would be incompatible with our plan, so might it be
deemed supererogatory, if not presumptuous, by those who are aware
how elaborately the subject has been treated by Mrs. Bray, the
talented authoress of the Letters to the Laureate, and of many
popular tales founded on the legendary lore, and descriptive of the
romantic scenery of the west. In the former work are embodied
many valuable contributions on antiquarian subjects by the Rev.
£. A. Bray, a gentleman who also as vicar of the parish, has displayed
a laudable zeal for the preservation of the antiquities of his native
town.

Tavistock and the vicinity arc replete with deeply-interesting

l\\\ 18T04 K.

18i)

associations of the olden time, and of poetic lore. Mason has placed
the scene of his Elfrida at Harewood,* on the hanks of the Tamar,
but the accuracy of his poetic venue has been questioned in the
Letters to Southey, where it is contended that Prince is correct in
stating that jElhelwold was killed at Wilverley (since Warlwood) in
Dartmoor, and that therefore the memorable hunt took place in that
Forest, where there is still a place called Willsworthy not far from
Tavistock. But another fair authoress, to whom the " green lawns and
mantling woods and winding river " of Harewood on the Tamar,
are endeared as the home of her youth, thus modestly advances its

Yet haplv jiiil^'il tln-v rightly, who here placed

la this remote peninsular retreat,

The scene of Edgar's hiililen loves, wli«ro dwelt

The beauteous yet unlovely dame, whose false

Aspiring heart betray'd to death her lord.
But admonished by her timely strain, let us turn from Earl Orgar
and the gigantic Ordulph — from the ambitious Elfrida and the ill-
starr'd jEthelwold, to our main object, for, as she aptly proceeds,
Yonder ridge

Of Dartmoor's pinnacles afar descried

And towering high into the azure air

i!roi]l- ill,.' mind Irniii MTtii'> of human strife

And gnilt and warfare, and each [invly thought

Creeping iloag the littleness of life,

To rove upon the vast and lwundless range

Of the Eternal Hills.

Scenes and Stetehet in Cornwall. Tavistock, 1844.
Passing forth from the town, along the pleasant causeway,
between the embattled abbey-wall and the river, and leaving Guile
Bridge, already commemorated, on the right, we shall depart from the
town eastward, by the new Okehampton road, through the valley
of the Tavy. In a neighbouring vale, which

lyes extended to the north

01 Tiivv's streams,

• Tab seal of Sir W. S. Trelawney. Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. A lovely apol.
ever connected in my o«n miuil, with pleasing nssocinLiuns and gratefully remembered
kinilntMes.— S. B.

I'KKAMUULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Two high-LirowM rocks on qjrther ride I*
As wilh iui arch to close the valley in,

wo shall be interested in tracing the resemblance to the original
sketch by Browne, a Devonshire poet, who, according to Prince, wa«
born at Tavistock, A.D. 1590.

" The swains,
By the tradition from tlieir sires JcrtvVl,
CallM it sweet Ina's coombe."

The description occurs in hie principal work, Britannia's Paste
where the Wallabrook, a neighbouring tributary of the Tavy, is ■
celebrated in Arcadian allegories, characteristic of the pedi
euphuism of the age. Browne, is better known by his caustic
description of Lydford, and its jurisprudence, a copy of which, as
graphically illustrating the manners and sentiments of our Devonshire
ancestors, is inserted at the close of the work.

But we hasten onwards to the more immediate objects of our
excursion, with the well-wooded grounds of Mount Tavy, bounded
by the river, on our right. Crossing the stream at Harford Bridge,
we shall make for Cocks Tor, a lofty frontier hill of trap-rock, where
we shall notice several hut-circles. A rugged road at its foot, will
lead us to Petertavy, which with its simple rustic church below the
fine bold brow of Smearridge, its picturesque mill, mountain torrent
and brawling cascades, will amply repay a visit. From hence, by an
upland road through Cudliptown, with the Tavy murmuring along
the hollow below, and White Tor on the right, we shall proceed to
Stannaton Down, a hill strewed with granite masses and marked
by a cairn. Turning south we shall traverse, not without difficulty,
a tract of boggy land to Lints Tor, near the source of the Walkham,
where are some imperfectly -defined traces of a trackway. Here, I
presume, we again meet the Forest boundary, which we last marked
at Mistor Pan, from thence it crosses the Walkham at the Hanging
Rock, to Dcadlake Head, which the Perambulators " think to be the
next bound, called in the old records Mewborough." But whatever
difficulty there may be, in identifying the last-named bound-place,
we shall have no hesitation in fixing the next, (described in the

FTTKTOK.

Perambulation as Lintsburrow,) at South Lints Tor, to which the
boundary-line next advances.

Leaving Lints Tor, and the Forest bounds, we proceed north-
wards to Furtor, in the North Quarter. We shall find, that by a
gradual ascent from the Tavy, we have here attained one of the
loftiest points on the moor, the approximate height of Furtor, above
the sea-level, being given as no less than 2000 feet. We have also
penetrated to the most secluded and inaccessible parts of our
western desert. Vast tracts of morass, bog, and heath, stretch away
on every side. Besides Furtor, few tors appear to break " the deep-
felt monotony " of the dreary wilds around. Not a sheep-path or
peat-stack gives token of the presence of man or beast ; and the
heath-fowl which you may occasionally spring from the heather, only
prove that this, one of their last retreats, is seldom invaded by the
sportsman. But haply twenty centuries ago, this solitary spot would
seem to have been occupied by man. Perhaps a Druid recluse (if
such there were) here found a place of studious retirement and
meditation, where, at least, he would have enjoyed ample oppor-
tunities for pursuing one of the favourite sciences of his order, in
the wide expanse of the starry heavens, commanded from the brow
of Furtor.' The foundation of the structure is similar to that of the
hut-circles in other parts, but in form it is elliptical, about fifty -feet in
circumference. This aboriginal dwelling stands alone on the brink of
one of the tributaries of the Tavy. No vestige of any other anticnt
remains is near, except a cromlech in ruins, near the head of the
river, about a furlong from its western bank. Although surrounded by
many scattered blocks of granite, there can be little doubt as to the
original intention of these four remarkable stones, which an expe-
rienced observer will readily distinguish from the surrounding masses
lying in their natural position. The quoit, or impost, is about the
ordinary dimensions, thirteen feet by five, and has fallen with its
longest side in the ground. It is retained in a slanting position by
the three original supporters, which appear to have yielded to the
pressure of the superincumbent mass.

We now follow the stream of the Tavy downwards to Wutern

192 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Oak and Western Redlake, a natural boundary, specified in the
Perambulation, to which the line comes from lints Tor. Between
these two latter points, according to the Perambulators, the Western
and Northern quarters meet. Near the same point, a considerable
stream from Amicombe Hill, called Rattlebrook, falls into the
Tavy, and forms the Forest boundary northward for some distance,
to its head. Still following the course of the Tavy, downwards, we
shall soon reach Tavy Cleave, a magnificent range of castellated tors
with which Nature appears to have fortified this fine peninsular hill,
while the rapid stream sweeps round the headland, and forms an
effective moat to the Titanic citadel above.

These tors range in succession along the precipitous sides of a
rock-strewn declivity. There are five principal piles, of which the
third is the loftiest and most majestic ; and the whole cliff presents a
remarkable resemblance to the dilapidated walls of a time-worn
edifice. Even on a nearer approach, the illusion is kept up by the
whortle, heaths, and other plants flourishing in the interstices, so
that the aspect of this mimic castle, is novel and peculiar. Imagina-
tion too, with little effort, may figure a natural outwork or barbican, in
the lower pile, on the southern glacis, guarding the approach, and
thus fortifying this inland promontory almost to the river's brink.
The whole declivity being overspread with scattered masses of granite,
stands in bold contrast with the grassy common on the opposite bank.

The bed of the Tavy presents in general, the usual rocky
characteristics of the Dartmoor rivers, but immediately below the
cleave, the stream flows for some distance, over a solid granite floor.
The view down the moorland glen, with far off glimpses of the culti-
vated country beyond, will abundantly repay the tourist for scaling
these natural ramparts, in his way to the neighbouring heights, along
which we shall proceed westward to Gertor, or Great Tor, which
crowns a bold eminence beetling over the Tavy, and is remarkable for
its stratified character as contrasted with Tavy Cleave. If rock-basins
are always to be ascribed to natural agencies, few tors would be more
favourable to the production of such cavities, but none are to be
found on any part of the rock. Between Tavy Cleave and Gertor we
shall notice a hut-circle, with the jambs erect and the doorway facing
the river. A trackline appears in connexion with this ruined
dwelling. From hence, passing Great Tor, with the river for our

BRENTOR. 193

guide, we shall wend our way to Marytavy, another rural church
amidst scenery pleasingly varied by homely objects and the bolder
of the moorland border, and returning to the turnpike road,
shall close our excursion at Tavistock.

Leaving the town by the old Okchampton road, for our next
excursion, we shall soon discern high on an insulated hill before us,
the church and steeple of Brentor,* four nides from Tavistock, on the
northern verge of Heathfield Down. Unlike the Dartmoor tors,
Brentor is a volcanic eminence rising abruptly from the surrounding
country. The church which crowns the summit, is said to owe its
erection to the pious gratitude of one of those " who occupy their
in the great waters," in commemoration of his deliverance
from the dangers of the stormy deep, and in fulfilment of a vow which
in the time of peril he had made to build a church on the first land he-
might discover, should he be permitted to reach the shore in safety.
This is said to have been Brentor, and here accordingly the votive
shrine was erected by the grateful merchant. There is however a
popular legend current in the neighbourhood, which reports that the
church was intended to have occupied a more convenient site, but
the design was frustrated by Satanic devices.

Of the existence of a church at Brentor there is a record so early
as 1383, when it was known as St. Michael de Rupe; such lofty
insulated sites, being considered as peculiarly appropriate to churches
dedicated to St. Michael the archangel. The structure, built on the
verge of the precipice, is small and low, but solid and durable, well
calculated to brave the storms which eo frequently and fiercely beat
upon this rock-founded house of prayer. The roof is open, the
exterior battlemonted, and some traces of Early English architecture
will be detected by the ceek'Mastical antiquary. Probably at the
same period that the beacon flamed from its heights, Brentor was
fortified, as there are some appearances of earthworks on the upper
part of the hill. In surveying the varied panorama which this lofty
eminence commands, the eye glancing southward over the grove-
crowned heights of Mount Edgcumbe and Maker, will rest on the

• Bern! is supposed by man)' anthers to ho derived from the German brenntn or
Amy 1 o-£ axon byritan tu burn. No donbl in former times this conspicuous eminence
mtS u it beacon, and ibal here, as on ninny other similar heigh", sigTi.tl-firci i
kindled, as ■ ready mode of telegraphic i

194 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

expanse of the distant Channel, in search of the spot from whence land
so anxiously sought for, could be descried by the storm-stricken
mariner.

Returning to the highway, we shall reach the banks of the Lyd
at about three miles distance from Brentor, and find ourselves in the
midst of scenery characteristic of the immediate neighbourhood,
and in many respects peculiar to this part of the moorland border.
Through a rural homestead we pass onward to the copse, and by a
steep zigzag pedestrian path, descend to the celebrated Lydford Fall.
The stream, a tributary to the Lyd, turns the neighbouring mill and
falls over a slaty precipice, about one hundred and ten feet in height.
Midway a ledge of rock opposes a temporary obstacle to the head-
long stream, and enhances the picturesque effect. In one of the
happiest of his out-door sketches, Carrington thus graphically paints
the scene.

At once, the stream, all light and music, springs
From the bold bank. Yet not in one broad sheet
It leaps the dark majestic cliff — a rock
Divides it, and the bright and broken flood
Impetuous descends in graceful curves
To mingle with the foaming world below,
While sparkling in the midday beam, a shower
Of spray, for ever hovering, bathes the plants
That love the mountain and the stream.

To view this cascade with advantage, it should be visited in
winter or after a summer storm, as the stream is inconsiderable at
other times. But the accompanying features of the scene will never
disappoint. The spot is one of calm woodland seclusion, at the
confluence of four deep and narrow glens, so that when we stand at
the foot of the waterfall, we are surrounded by " insuperable height
of loftiest shade." Leaving this fascinating scene, we thread our
adventurous way along a tangled and "bosky" defile, guided by the
darkly-flowing Lyd ; but before we reach Lydford Bridge, shall find
it necessary to climb the precipitous bank, as the channel there is
formed in a narrow ravine, through which the river struggles with a
fretful murmuring sound. The rocky sides of the chasm are con-

LTDPOfiS BSISOE. 195

nee ted by the arch which is thrown over the river, at the height of
sixty or seventy feet from the water. The similarity observed in
"the rifted banks of Lyd" has given rise to the supposition, that the
ground has been rent asunder by some terrible convulsion of nature ;
whether this conjecture be well-founded or not, the scene at Lydford
Bridge is one of great singularity and uncommon interest Unlike
other rivers, which glide through open plains or sunny valleys, the
Lyd forces its darkling way at the bottom of a deep rocky fissure.
We have only to substitute the name of Lyd for Tees, and Scott's
vivid description of the northern stream will apply with striking
accuracy to our own.

When/ Toes full niaay a fathom low
Wears with his rage, ao common foe ;
For pebbly batik, nor sand-bed here,
Nor clay mound, checks his fierce career ;
Coudenui'd to miao a channeU'd way
O'er solid sheets of marble grey.

The tourist who contents himself with the view from the parapet,
without venturing to explore the ravine below, as well as above the
bridge, will not duly appretiate the singular impressiveness of this
romantic scene, the Devil's Bridge of Devon. An author/ unbiassed
by local predilections, thus warmly but faithfully describes the
scenery which greets the eye on the banks of the Lyd. " At a little
distance below the arch, the fissure gradually spreads its rocky jaws ;
the bottom opens and instead of the dark precipices which have
hitherto overhung and obscured the struggling river, it now emerges
into day, and rolls its murmuring current through a winding valley,
confined within magnificent banks, darkened with woods, which swell
into bold promontories or fall back into sweeping recesses till they
are lost to the eye in the distance Thickly shaded by trees, which
shoot out from the rent, the scene at Lydford Bridge is not so terrific
as it would have been had a little more light been let in upon the
abyss, just sufficient to produce a " darkness visible." As it is how-
ever, the chasm cannot be regarded without shuddering, nor will the

Walts through the Western Counties,

196

PERAMBULATION OF DABTUOOB.

lord,

stoutest heart meditate unappsJled upon the dreadful anecdotes
nected with the spot."*

Clambering along the bank above the bridge, and followinj
course of the river upwards, about a mile, we shall reach Kate's
where the Lyd, fresh from the neighbouring moor, bursting throi
rocky fissure, and rushing down a steep descent, forms a cascade,
some respects finer than the more celebrated Lydford watei
We cross the stream, above the cascade, and through a lane on the
opposite side shall soon reach the once important borough of Lydford,
the principal vestiges of whose former greatness, will be found in
keep of the antient castle, which rises conspicuously on the west
of the present church- town.

But Lydford appears to have been a place of importance even
before the date of its castle. t " Yea doubtless," writes Kisdon, " in the
Saxon heptarchy, it was a town of some note, that felt the furious
rage of the merciless Danes," by whom it was plundered and burnt in
the same expedition, when Tavistock Abbey was destroyed by these
marauding invaders. The castle was built subsequently
Conquest, and by a charter of Edward I. Lydford was appointed as
the stannary prison, where alone all offenders against the stannary
laws, were to be incarcerated. Here, accordingly, Strode, member of
parliament for Plympton, an ancestor of George Strode, Esq. of
Ncwnham Park, was imprisoned in 15J2, for his exertions in parlia-
ment, in procuring an act to prevent injury to harbours by
operations. For this be was brought before the Stannators at
court at Crockern Tor, and having refused to pay a heavy
according to their sentence, was confined in Lydford Cutis. T

■ A gentleman from the neighbourhood of K\etcr, ruined l,v .
hate crossed the moor on horsebiuk to this place, where dismounting, madly
i elf- destruction, he leupcd d.iwn the terrific chasm. In a deep pool
maniac is also said to linve drowned himself. But the scene ia also ussociated

incident to which the mind gladly turtti fn.m the contemplation of madnesa

In our present excursion we have traversed the old highway leading IViin I'l'
through Tavistock to Okehamplon. A benighted horseman, once tinielling Ih'i
nmidst the din and fury of a moerland tempest, on approaching Lydford, found ai
pressed briskly forward, that his horse made a sudden leap, for »hi
account, as there was no apparent obslnelc in the way. In the nit i :
explained when he heard with astonishment, (and it may he hoped, with
also.) that the bridce having been swept away by the raging lonwit during, il
night, had not his horse gallantly cleared the chusm at a bound, he must hat.
perished in the yawning abyss,

t For various interesting particular of the castle, borough, manor an
Lydford, the reader is referred to the valuable historical document* at the

n parlb-
f mining
lilt tidr
avy fine.

Tic

i

lyootl

1.1 lll'HKIi fASlLi;.

197

sufferings of this gentleman, and of otter victims of these arbitrary
enactments, in such a " hainous, contagious and detestable place," as
this dungeon was commonly reported to be, must have been great.
Both the jurisprudence and the prison appear to have obtained an
unenviable notoriety about this period. A proverb in Ray's Col-
lection doubtless embodied the popular opinion,

First bang and draw,
Then hear the cause is Lvtltunl Uw,

But Browne, our Tavistock poet, has described the castle and
borough of Lydford, " so very exactly and facetely in running metre,"
as old Westcote phrases it, that I have inserted the poem in extenso,
at the end of the Appendix.

The expense incurred by Prince Charles, as Duke of Cornwall,
in repairing the castle, appears to have done little to retard the ruin,
to which it seems to have been doome'd in Browne's time. A sur-
vey of the borough of Lydford, gives an interesting but lamentable
account of its dilapidated state in 1650."

The castle, on the north and west sides, is defended by a deep
hollow with precipitous banks, winding down to the glen of the Lyd.
On the eastern side stands " the little church," commemorated by
Browne, where there is a curious font, of such antique sinrplicity that
it may have been coeval with the departed glories of Lydford, in
Saxon times.

Leaving Lydford, we shall direct our course to the mail road
from Tavistock to Okehampton, where the tourist will find, at a
wayside hostel, called the Dartmoor Inn, refreshment and sufficient
accommodation for the night should he require it. Or, if disposed to
pursue bis researches, he will cross the high road, and entering the
commons at the back of the inn, will pass over Highdown eastward,
: the Lyd once more, as it comes foaming down from Noddon.
On the brink of the river, in the vale below Doctor, which bears
almost due east, is the ruined foundation of an antient hut, peculiar
both in form and construction. The form is rectangular, and the
■tones of which the basement is composed, instead of being fixed erect
in the ground, edge to edge, are set face to face, and in the present

' See Appemiii — Hiitoricnl Docrnnenli.

198 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

ruined condition of the building, have declined from their original
erect position. The hut is twenty-six feet long by thirteen wide,
and stands apart from any other antient remains.

Having crossed the Lyd, we shall mount the opposite hill and
find ourselves in the midst of a fine group of tors. Between the Lyd
and a tributary rivulet, Little Lints Tor, Armstor, Brator and Doetor
form a range, in a line almost north and south. East of the rivulet,
Links Tor, Dannagoat, Clatter, Sharp Tor and Hare Tor, form another
series almost parallel to the former, and fortify the ridge which ends
in the promontory at Tavy Cleave. At the foot of this ridge on the
east, the Rattlebrook pursues its noisy way to the Tavy, and tracing
its course upwards, we shall once more return to the Forest bounds,
which proceed northwards from the head of Rattlebrook to Stengator,
or Steincator, with the lofty dorsal ridge of Amicombe, high on the right.
Passing over its northern extremity, we shall notice Brandscomb's
Loaf, Shelstone Tor, and Sourton Tor, the latter rising above the little
border church of that name. In our progress over this part of the
moor, we shall meet with few antient monuments except some cairns
on the surrounding heights.

From Stengator the boundary goes straight to the vale of the
West Ockment, which it crosses at Sandyford, called also in the
Perambulation, Longaford. From hence the boundary proceeds in a
straight line to a place called High Wilhays, or Willinghayes, and
from thence to West Miltor, skirting the eastern flank of Yestor.*
Here wc deviate from the line to scale its lofty peak, of which the
approximate elevation has been calculated at two thousand and fifty
feet, thus making it the highest point in the moor, and consequently
in the whole south of England. From this Alpine height, the whole
of the western and north-western districts of Devon, and a large
extent of East Cornwall, lie mapped out before us. Towards the
north-east, we look over the broad shoulder of Cosdon, to Raddon
top and the higher points of country, between Crediton and Tiverton,
whilst in the south-west, we descry the bold eminence of Hingston
Down above Callington, and in front, stretch our gaze over Broadbury
towards Holsworthy, Bude, and the Bristol Channel.

* Probably East tor is more correct. The change of E or H into Y, is common in
the Devonshire vernacular. Thus we have Yeaffield for Heathfield, and Yeffer for
Heifer, and Yaffull for Handful.

OKEHAMPTON CASTLE.

m

We shall find nothing worthy of special note at Miltor, and
shall therefore leave the guidance of the Perambulators, to follow the
course of a rivulet, which flowing down the hollow between Yestor
tod Miltor, falls into the West Ocknicnt below Iflackdown. The
whole of this part of the moor is remarkably destitute of antient
remains, and eastward of Yestor, is of the same dreary monotonous
character as the vicinity of Craumere Pool, to which it extends.
aery on the West Ockment, in the deep glen at the foot of
Black Tor, is grand and impressive, but will not long detain us from
tracing the course of the river onwards, till it sweeps below the
venerable ruins of Okehampton Castle, which occupy the summit
and declivity of a rocky mound, about half-a-mile from the western
entrance of the town, and full in view of the mail road to Cornwall.
Above this eminence, thickly -clothed with foliage, the massy walls of
the keep are seen to rise, with the most picturesque and happy
effect. One lofty fragment appears ready to topple down headlong,
at the first assault of the blustering tempests from the neighbouring
wilds of Dartmoor ; but from the durable qualities of the cement, it
has withstood the fury of the elements, and may, we trust, long
remain to add interest and beauty to this charming scene. The
antiquary, with his thoughts reverting to the lordly barons, who
once here held sway, the Baldwins of the Norman a;ra, and the
Courtenays of the Plantagenet times, will enter from the east and
trace the remains of the castle-gate and the moat, the base court
and the chapel, and reach the square keep on the western side by a
pathway overhung with trees. Embosomed in foliage, — its moul-
dering walls mantled with ivy, and surrounded by hills of varied
form and hue. Okehampton Castle, in sunshine or in shower, "at
morn or dewy eve," will be always an object of pleasing interest, but
like Melrose and oilier celebrated rums, to see it in perfection the
tourist should " visit it by the pale moonlight."

To facilitate this object, we shall take up our quarters for the
night at the White Hart, and before proceeding next morning on our
final excursion, shall visit the most prominent objects of interest in
tills antient borough, which we shall observe is situated on the very
verge of our moorland district, nestling beneath the bold brow of the
once celebrated park, on a pleasant little plain, watered by the twin
of the Ockment, which peninsulate a large portion of its

200 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

site and unite their waters just below the town. The two bridges in
the main street, the chantry chapel near the east bridge, with its
embattled steeple, and some old gabled dwellings, will not fail to
attract our attention, nor shall we grudge our walk to the church,
which occupies a commanding situation on the hill that rises above
the town on the western side. The parish church of Okehampton,
a spacious structure with a lofty pinnacled tower, forms a conspicuous
and pleasing object amidst the surrounding scenery. Tt was acci-
dentally destroyed by fire a few years since, but has since been
restored, in excellent taste and with due regard to the accommodation
of the parishioners.

Returning to the town, by a road in front of the vicarage lawn,
we shall pass the entrance to Okelands, the modern mansion of
Albany Savile, Esq., whose charming grounds are enlivened and
adorned by the Ockment, which here flows onward to render its
tribute to the Torridge, through picturesque banks overhung with
luxuriant foliage. It has been conjectured by some writers that a
Roman road ran in or near Okehampton, on its way from Exeter to
Holsworthy and Stratton. One circumstance on which this supposi-
tion has been grounded, is indisputable, the existence of a Roman
camp on Broadbury Common,* about five miles N.N.W. of Oke-
hampton in the line which such a road would probably have taken.
But the traces of a fortified post, and of a Roman road which have
been supposed to exist in the park near Halstock, cannot safely be
adduced in evidence, as we shall find in our progress in that direc-
tion. Proceeding southward from the town between the two Ock-
ments, we shall enter the park by a rough road, which, as we ascend
the hill, soon degenerates into a steep moor-track, chiefly used for
bringing turf down from the commons and for driving cattle to
pasture. A few veteran hollies of large growth, on the northern and
western declivities, are almost the sole remains of the sylvan honours
of the antient park of Okehampton, which was disafforested by
Henry VIII. in 1589, at the same time that the castle was demolished.

* It can scarcely be doubted that Bradbury is a specimen of a Roman summer camp,
on an extensive tract of table-land, in the parish of North Lew. The form is an oblong
square, two hundred and sixty-six feet by two hundred and thirty-six, and the vallum is
not more than eighteen feet in the highest part, on the outer slope. The names of
Chester Moor, Scobchester and Wickchester which occur in the immediate neighbour-
hood, appear to indicate the presence of the Romans.

OKEJIAMI'TON FAHK.

201

On tliis spot we are also reminded of the wild legend connected with
Lady Howard's oak, still current in this part of Devonshire, and
embodied in Mrs. Bray's tale of Khz of Fitzford ; nor is it improbable
that there are some still whose superstitious fancy figures to them the
doomed spectre of the once proud heiress, in her coach of bones,
preceded by her skeleton hound, driving through the streets of
Tavistock, at midnight, to bring a blade of grass from Okehampton
I 'ark to the gateway of Fitzford. Nor shall we omit to notice Fitz's
Welt, a spring on the ridge of the hill, which, according to the
statement of the anonymous author of a concise but interesting
account of the history and antiquities of Okehampton, " it was a
custom till within a late period for young persons to visit on the
morning of Easter day."* From this commanding spot we shall gain
varied and favourable views of the town in the valley, the church
on the eminence above, the mansion and groves of Okelands, the
course of the Ockments, and the picturesque ruins of the castle. We
shall here also appretiate the extent of the park, which stretching
from the banks of the West Ockment in front of the castle, reaches to
the channel of the eastern river, and forms the extreme northern fore-
land of the great Dartmoor waste, which we have been perambulating.
Passing over the brow of the hill to Blackdown, we reach the
Forest boundary once more, beyond the verge of the park, at Rowtor,
or Roughtor, to which eminence it comes in a direct line from West
Miltor, the spot at which we left it in our last excursion. The line of
perambulation then goes down the north-eastern declivity of Kowtor
to Chapel Ford, at the confluence of the Blackaven water with
the East Ockment, called by the Perambulators the ford which
lieih in the east side of St. Michael's chapel of Holstock. Scarcely a
vestige of this antient sanctuary now remains. " The storms of six
centuries," says the author above cited, " have wrought their work in
its destruction. Excepting the line of its foundations, now covered
like the rest with green sward, and a path leading to the spot from
Belstone, with its crossing place over the East Ockment, still called
the Chapel Ford, there is little left to point where our forefathers

worshipped."

The course i

r through this secluded glen presents a

' Account .if llie Bnronjr and Town of OkehnTitnLii

202 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

succession of scenes of romantic grandeur and wild magnificence.
The river comes foaming down from the moors over a solid granite
bed, in some places sufficiently steep to form a succession of waterfalls,
and makes its way through a deep mountain gorge to Belstone Cleave,
where it sweeps round the bold acclivity which forms the eastern
boundary of the park. The hanging woods clothing the steep bank
on the Okehampton side, are strikingly contrasted with the bare and
rock-strewn declivity, which confronts them. Nor will the tourist
reach this, the last definite bound-mark of the Forest, without con-
fessing that in his whole perambulation he has seen no spot where the
peculiar features of our moorland scenery are more felicitously com-
bined than in this, the lonely glen of St. Michael of Halstock.

Crossing the river we shall mount the steep ascent towards
Belstone Tor, and within a quarter of a mile, on its western slope, we
shall observe the circle called in the neighbourhood Nine Stones,
but which in reality consists of seventeen stones, erect, the highest
of which is not more than two feet and a half from the ground.
We shall climb the hill, and having noticed the fine series
of tors, which rise from the rock-strewn ridge, between the
watercourses of the Ockment and the Taw, shall mark the direction
of the line of perambulation, from the Chapel Ford in a line to
Cosdon beacon, the Hoga* de Cosdown of the Perambulators.

Having thus reached once more the point at which we com-
menced our wanderings round the Forest bounds, on the banks of the
Taw, we shall return towards Okehampton, and pass in our way
the moorland village of Belstone with its simple church and low
sturdy tower, built as if to resist the fiercest onslaught of the mountain
tempest. We shall regain the vale of the East Ockment, in front of
Belstone Cleave and the sombre gorge through which that stream
pours down into the valley on the north side of the park ; and again
crossing the stream, shall skirt the south bank in our return to
Okehampton, and there terminate our last excursion.

* I am now satisfied that we should look in vain for a place named Hoga, and that
it is to be sought for in the hill or height of Cosdon itself; the word corresponding with
Heag, ( Ang. Sax.) Hoog, (Dutch) Hoch, (German) &c. all implying altitude.

THE

APPENDIX.

2c

APPENDIX,

GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF DARTMOOR,

By Edwabd Mdobb, m.d., f.l.s., late Secretary to Lbs Plymouth Institution.

This mountain elevation ia one of the many masses of granite rock,
which have risen up through the various shales, slates, and sand-
stones, which constitute the geological surface of Devon and Cornwall.
These latter had been, for a long period, considered as a peculiar
formation, to which the undefined term of Grauwacke, or Transition
Rocks, had been applied. Recent investigations, however, have led
to the announcement, by Professor Sedgwick and Sir R. Murchison,*
that the upper series, or culm measures, occupying principally the
centre and north of Devon, belong to the carboniferous system ; and
that the lower series, extending throughout nearly the whole of South
Devon and Cornwall, is equivalent to the old red sandstone of geolo-
gical nomenclature. This latter view, first conjectured by many with
hesitation, among the earliest of whom was Mr. John Pridcaux, of
Plymouth ;t and respecting whom, Mr. Lonsdale* says, "full credit
must be given to him, for placing part of the limestones in the old
red sandstones" — was, at length, (after the investigation of its fossils
by Mr. Lonsdale,) boldly asserted by Messrs. Sedgwick and Mur-
chison, and is now admitted by nearly elII geologists. To the entire
system of rocks they have given the name of the " Devonian System,"
which occupies a position intermediate between the carboniferous and
Silurian systems. This class of rocks, stretching from Dartmoor to
iili Coast, consists, in succession, of 1st, an indurated meta-
morphic group near the granite ; 2nd, a great complex slate group
with bands of limestone ; 3rd, a coarse red arenaceous group ; 4th,
a great schistose deposit, dipping south, but at length reversed as it
approaches, 5th, a mass of mica and chlorite slate, extending from
the Start to Bolt-tail. Rocks of a similar character, consisting of five
groups, also form the lower scries on the North Coast of Devon

■ P/iil. Mag., vol. li... p. 241, and Geological Tram. vol. -
t Tram, of t'tpHout/i Instilulion, p. 48. J Gtological Tram., vol

beneath the culm measures* Between this region '
occurs the cultniferous scries, occupyiug a vast trough and dipping
away on both sides, from the rocks with which it is in contact. It is
divided into two groups; the lower consisting of dark carbonaceous
shales, sandstones, micaceous and siliceous flagstones, and calcareous
shale with subordinate beds of black limesfctne ; the upper thi
sandstones are generally thin-bedded; the former often indurated
and containing beds of anthracite and fossil plants, &c. the L
like coarse coal grits, sometimes assuming a conglomerate form,
and containing pyrites and iron-stone. AH these beds are much con-
torted, the flexures being considered by geologists, generally, t to be
dependent on the protrusion of the granite, which has turned up their
edges around. Sir Henry Do la Beche observes, that the southern
boundary of the carbonaceous system, runs along the edge of Dart-
moor, from Tavistock to Holnc Chase, (forty-six miles,) and, through-
out this distance, the protrusion of the granite, has thrown up the
edges of the beds, in some places nearly vertical; J yet, allowing this
to have a certain influence, he doubts whether it is not necessary to
seek some greater geological cause for the numerous contortions of the
preexisting rocks, (p. 188.) The slates are traversed by greenstones,
and other trap-rocks, and a band of trappean ash commences at
Dunterton, and runs by Milton Abbot and Endsleigh to Grendon;
and Brent Tor itself is a mass of conglomerated cinders. Large masses
of trap form the elevated lands of Horndon, White Tor, Smearridge,
Cock's Tor, &c. These igneous rocks have flowed, says Sir. H.
De la Beche, during the accumulation of the sedimentary deposits
around them ; viz., the grits, shales, and slates of the carbonaceous
scries. This subject is more recently illustrated by Sir H. Di I.
in the 1st vol. ot Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Bi '
— where it is shown that extensive volcanic action lias oca
throughout the whole scries of the paleozoic rocks, and the traj
ash such as iB found at Brent Tor, he considers as the result ol
aerial volcanos existing at that remote period of the earth's liistory,
and prior to the eruption of the granite. The trap-bands skirting
Dartmoor, seem as if thrust out of their original position by the
protrusion of the granite — consequently this must have been of later
formation than the trap ; thus the venerable tors, which have for so
long a period excited our admiration, as belonging to the mass of
primaeval foundations of the earth, are shown to be in geological
sequence, posterior to the rocks, by which they are surrounded.
The proofs of this arc also manifest in coast sections, and other
situations, where the junction of the granite and slates is readily
seen; veina of granite arc found penetrating the slates, and often
large masses of the latter are insulated in them ; and from the very
minute strings in which they often terminate, we may be led to

Milie,
istory,

GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF DABTMOOB.

205

infer very considerable fluidity, on the part of the erupted masses

in many parts of their confines. At St. Michael's Mount, Cape

Cornwall, &c, these veins are seen, again penetrated by similar

I io wing that, during consolidation, cracks occurred, into which

granite was again forced, as is seen at the Land's End district,

and not unfrequently on Dartmoor. These are distinguished from

elrans, by their tortuous course. Other marks of the fluid state of

the granite, also constantly occur, where the neighbouring rock is

altered in character, by the heated mass. Thus many of the gneissic

meks, in the vicinity of granite, are ascertained to be altered slate

rocks ; and the successive beds of the culm measures, abutting upon

"i . of Dartmoor, become changed in structure ; the siliceous

bands are converted into quartz rock ; the shales, iuto Lydian stone,

compact felspar, porphyry, &c* All of which point out its subsequent

" The granite of Dartmoor," says De la Bcche, " is in compo-
sition a mixture of quartz, felspar, and mica ; the latter, either black
The felspar is most prevalent, and often occurs in large
rendering the rock porphyriticf It frequently appears as
if stratified in beds, depending on its tendency to become fissured or
jointed, when near the slates ; or by weathering, as seen in the tors.
On the coast, it often appears as piled, block upon block.

Eivans are granite dykes of differently aggregated constituents.
On the south of Dartmoor, an elvan traverses Roborough Down, — it
is a porphyry, composed of a felspathic-quartzose base, with quartz
crystals, and may be seen in the valley between Milton and Maristow.
A granitic elvan also occurs near Jump. On the north of Dartmoor,
two eivans run in the carbonaceous series ; one near South Zeal, the
other through Lidbridge Ball to Hathcrlcigh : none have been noticed
on tin.' east of the moor.

In chemical composition, these granites and eivans arc nearly
similar, subject to minor variations arising from the presence or
absence of schorl and talc.

A recent author J classifies granite according as its component
minerals contain alkalies, or alkaline earths. Among the former he
enumerates —

First. Ternary granites, formed of quartz, felspar, and bin-axal
mica, all of which are deficient in earthly ingredients/ but yield
potash, soda, and lithia.

Second. Among the latter we have granitoid rocks, into which
hornblende enters as a component part, — hornblende contains none
of the alkalies, but abounds in magnesia and lime. Also granites
with talc, chlorite or steatite, (instead of mica,) which contain
magnesia. Also granites with tourmaline or schorl, which contain
nearly equal quantities of silica and alumina and oxide of iron, traces

lei and MunoaiaoN.
t Kin c Tur aud many ethers in the S.W. of the moor aro of this character.
t Mr. Wallace. Geological Proceeding*, vol. iv., p. 193.

ILK AMBULATION OP DARTMOOR.

of the alkalies and earths, and some boracic acid. This
schorlaccous variety, is the prevailing granitoid rock of Cornwall and
Devon, and is mostly found on the borders, at the junction with the
elates. Often, indeed, a gradual passage may be traced from the
ternary granite to schorl rock ; the mica disappears first, though some-
times all four minerals are found in nearly equal proportions, then
the felspar fades, leaving the quartz and schorl only : the latter often
occurs in radiating nests in the quartz. Sir. Wallace is of opinion
that ternary granite is the lowest accessible rock of the earth's crust,
and that it has been protruded at different times, either solid or fluid ;
when the latter, it has been sometimes altered by a second fusion, and
hy mixture with other rocks of a sedimentary character through
which it has passed. The fine grained varieties are probably second
fusions ; so when it becomes porphyritic, and also when elvans occur,
(which are mostly eurite,) and when talcose, (protogine,) and again
where schorl prevails ; in short, wherever mica is absent, and minerals
abounding in magnesia and lime or metallic oxides are found, — or
transitions into syenite, porphyry, basalt or volcanic rocks are noticed,
— it indicates an origin of kter date than antient granite.

Mr. Prideaux, speaking of the granites and other rocks in the
vicinity, says the granites of Dartmoor " vary in hardness from such
as defy the tool, to those which fall to pieces with a blow, or may be
cut with a spade." Tin, copper, and manganese are found among
them, but not lead. A coarse porphyry occurs on Morwcll Down,
Grenofen, and Walkbampton ; the porphyritic elvan (Roborough
Stone) is quarried at Harewood, west of the Tamar.

The slates near granite, are micaceous at Meavy, Shaugh, Black-
alder Tor, Heytor, &c. ; and talcose at Collard and Walkh.n
A slate with quartz veins is topped by what is locally called Blackacrc,
at Warleigh Tor.

A compound of quartz, clays tone and schorl, forms the hills at
Ringmoor Down, Wigford, Roborough and Crownhill Duwns. Trap,
occurs abundantly, and may be seen at Cock's Tor, White Tor,
Brazen Tor, &C.

In his catalogue, Mr. Prideaux enumerates the following rocks.*

ON DARTMOOR.

1. Common granite, tw the centre.

2. Finer do. Seytor ; metalliferous.

3. Red do. Irowhworthy Tor.

4. Compact do. Pen Beacon,

110RDKRING THE GRANITE.

1. Fine granite ; Gthtocl:

2. Hornblende rock, (" trap ;") Cock's Tor.

3. Schorl rock ; Roborough, &c. ; mctallifer

TransacliQiu oj Plj/mouOi Jntlilulion, p. It.

GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF J1ARTMOOK. 20

4, Quartz with claystone, (" capel ■") metalliferous.

5. Micaceous slate ; Bet/tor, Skaugk.
. pawing; into clay-slate ; Cotehele.

7. Clay-ante; Harwell Down, &c. ; metalliferous.

8. Do. compact, ("killas;") borders of moor ; non-metalliferous.
'.'. Etiblttxkd jasper ; Iny-bridgi; White Tbr, &c.

10. Granitoid porphyry ; Grmmfm, Wialkhampton.

11. Felspar rock; Fancy, Collar d, Blatchf or d.

12. Greenstone, (" trap ;") Rock, Egij liucMand, Estover, &c.
IS. Finer ditto, (" hypersthenic ;") Cock's Tor near Granite.

The influence of the atmosphere, causes diiferent effects on these
rocks, according to the state of their component parts ; thus,
weathering, as it is termed, sometimes extends to many feet deep.
The tors and cairns are formed of mineral matter less inclined to
decay than the parts around them. Schorlaccous parts make great
resistance to decomposition ; the original divisional planes, which
dispose granite into cuhoid, or pyramidal masses, permit atmo-

Kberic action on their edges, which thus tends to produce a rounded
rrn. This weathering, accounts for the numerous logan rocks to be
found in all granite districts, and also for the basin-shaped hollows,
often seen on their upper surfaces, which have been supposed to have
been the work of the Druids, but they arc so numerous as to do
»way with that supposition, though it is not improbable that they
might have occasionally been made use of in the Druidical ceremonies.
Thu felspar is the most prone to decompose. The traps resist it most ;
hence they display many prominent points, as at Cock's Tor, Smear-
ridge, White Tor, and the Botter Hock, near Hennock, and others
■round Bridford and Christow; when these decompose, the horn-
blende suffers as much as the felspar, the protoxide of iron becomes
i peroxide, aud the rocks have a rusty appearance. The decom-
position of the felspar in the talcose variety of granite, yields " china-
clay," which is now prepared artificially near Cornwood, (south of
ihc moor,) in great quantities, and exported to the Potteries, from
Plymouth to the extent of several thousand tons annually ; the
H.'ihliin, Small Hanger, and Morley quarries, are now in full work.
It Is found in a natural state at liovcy Traccy, having been probably
vanhed down from Dartmoor into a lake, or estuary, (De la Beche,)
*nd is exported at Teignmouth, in some years to the extent of 130 to
25,000 tons.

The rocks of Dartmoor and its neighbourhood, are extensively
roploycd for economical purposes. It is used as a building- stone,
rith great profit, though much care is required in the selection, as
"lies," so called from the faculty of working them, are
he soonest to decay. Large quantities of good stone are exported
o London from Heytor, and also from Foggin Tor, by the tram-
■oad to Plymouth. Two hundred tons arc now sent every fortnight
o the new docks at Keyham Point. Much granite is also employed
n the streets of Plymouth, for curbing, to which it is well-adapted ;

208

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

but for street paving, it is far inferior to the t<iugh greenstone
its readiness to be disintegrated by friction. The clvans ax
superior to granite, of which many quarries arc worked
Dartmoor, the " Roborough Stone" being one of tin I

For ornamental purposes the varieties of granite MB Rot B
in request as they deserve. The clvans arc, many of tin i
beautifid ; and a wliite variety of granite, obtained in the bed of the
Ockmcnt, near Okehampton, was employed by tin Hon,
Fcllowcs, for chimney pieces, at Eggesford, which, at a short c"
looked like statuary marble. The greenstones of Cock's Tor are al
highly ornamental, as also the red jasper of Brent Tor, Trow Is in
&c. Schorl rock has been greatly brought into notice by Mr. ,*
Treflry, of Place House, Fowcy, and is well-adapted for i
chimney pieces, pedestals, balustrades, &c &c.

MINES AXL) STREAM WORKS.

For mining purposes, Dartmoor itself, though metallic
been much worked, yet Wheal Duchy and Birch Tor tin mine are now-
working, and formerly good returns were made from Vii '
Mine, in the middle of the moor. Around its borders i
noticed Wheal Betsy, Wheal Jewel, and Wheal Friendship near
Black Down. Wheal Crebor, East and West Crowndale, Virtuous
Lady, Wheal Buck Tor; Wheal Franco and Wheal KuL
Horrabridge. Most of which yield copper, except Betsy, which
abounds in silver and lead, as also the South Hooe mine nd
near Beer Alston. Bottle Hill mine, near Hemerdon Ball, is a tin
mine. It is often found that copper and tin occur together ;
mine commencing with tin, will often ultimately furnish copper.

Manganese is often f blind, and is quarried at Doddiscombl
Ashton, and Christow on the 'feign.

Cobalt occurs in Wheal Iiuckworthy, near Sampford Spinel

Antimony, at Hennock and Bovey Tracey.

Zinc, in most of the sulphurets of Devon and Cornwall, I
" Black Jack" by the miners.

Iron, (red hematite,) at Shaugh Prior and Ilsington ;
micaceous iron ore of South Brent and Dartmoor, termed " Di.vmi
shire Sand," is used for sanding writings.

Gold is occasionally found in the stream works.

Of the Metals. — Copper and tin are found in granite; the
latter, especially, in the stream works, which are gT
the detritus of the neighbouring rocks. They occur in tii.
throughout the whole country from Dartmoor to th
and many spots remain on Dartmoor, which have been i
worked over, by the "Old Men." The origin of these gran
been variously accounted for. Sir H. De la Heche says, p. Si
hypothesis merely requiring that prior to the production
stream tin, a mass of decomposed granite existed in the MSB

, is a tin

«;."""

mil i r r
iney.

._

and the

GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF DARTMOOR.

209

, a higher part of that which now remains,) and that a body
af water via driven violently against and over it, would explain the
phenomena observed."

The Ores of the different metals, being combinations with other
minerals, arc principally found in fissures at the junctions of the
different rocks. These fissures, or veins, always partake of the non-
metallic ingredients of the rocks in which they occur. In granites,
nilica prevailing, quartz is found ; in calcareous rocks, carbonate of
lime ; in gypsil'erous beds, sulphate of lime ; and they are also often
filled with water, which, having soaked through the rocks, contains
many of their mineral contents in solution.

Mineral Veins. — The origin of these has been a subject of
anxious enquiry- Mr. J. Taylor's Report, at the meeting of the
British Association, at Cambridge, noticed in vol. iii., contains the
fullest exposition of opinions on the subject; but the prevailing
theories are — 1st, That mineral veins are formed contemporaneously,
with the rocks which enclose them ; 2nd, That the fissures are filled
by sublimation of substances, driven by heat from beneath, upwards ;
3rd, That they are derived from chemical deposits of substances in
solution in the fissures, aided by electro-chemical agency. The first
is the view entertained by the majority of the miners. The whole
subject has been illustrated by Mr. Came and Mr. R. W. Fox;*
and Becquerel has still farther explained the influence which
chemical changes exert among different minerals, when aided
by heat and water.

These changes are still more readily called into action, when
fresh fractures occur, enabling new agents to come into operation.
The various fa nits, or heaves, occurring in the crust of the earth may
be owing to the temporary local volcanic effects, or to the natural
results of a cooling surface, supposing the earth to have been once
in an incandescent state. That its surface has been extensively
ruptured in all geological ages is evident on examination. Volcanic
action in the most antient strata, bears all the indications of having
operated in the same manner, as is now noticeable, where modern
volcanos are acting. Added to which, evidence is not wanting, to
show that the earth has undergone, and is still affected by, influences
which have caused elevations and depressions of particular parts.
The superficial gravels are proofs of long-continued aqueous action,
disintegrating the rocks while under water, and the subsequent
elevation of those parts above the sea, has thus brought them to
light. The submarine forests and raised beaches along the coasts,
are proofs of depressions and elevations. The counties of Devon
and Cornwall, at a comparatively recent geological period, have been
canted up, in such a wa }'> lnat while the southern side of them has
been raised forty or fifty feet, the north coast has reached an elevation
of one hundred and twenty feet. Greater points of elevation are

' Transactions a/ Geological Society of Cumieall.

PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

observable in Wales ; and, indeed, marks of the sea-level at different
points, in all countries, are now considered as so many proofs of the
bii wm j w rise of the laud.* This opinion has been extensively
illustrated by Mr. Darwin, t from observations in South America.
These effects are not less certain, whether we consider them arising
from a continuous clevatory force,J aided, as some suppose, by the
contractions of a cooling surface, or from, successive intrusions of
igneous matter. Facts arc also now sufficiently accumulated to war-
rant the conclusion, that volcanic agency has been extensively in
operation in the neighbourhood of Dartmoor, during the deposition
of the different strata of which the district is composed ; and in
reference to similar evidence respecting the Mai vein Hills, Sir. R.
Murchison says, (p. 78,) "Such facts are, it seems to me, miniature
counterparts of the upraising, at successive periods, of mountain-
chains, and the grand phenomena of the Caucasus, the Alps, and the
Pyrenees, may nearly all be studied in our small English ridges."

The same causes which appear to have acted in former ages, are
now being followed by similar results ; the ruins of the various
existing rocks, disintegrated by atmospheric and other changes, and
gradually conveyed into the present sea, are " all destined, probably,
in some future condition of this portion of our planet, with the
remains of the creatures that exist in and upon them, to be raised
above the level of the Atlantic, and to be covered with terrestrial
life, as has happened with the far greater part of the lands of Corn-
wall and Devon and West Somerset, the latter of which is merely
formed of the superficially decomposed bottoms of antient seas, that
have been elevated above water into the atmosphere.§

In this short outline I have endeavoured to give a view of the
present state of knowledge respecting this district, which togethfl
with the surrounding country was for so long a time an unresolved
problem in geology ; but the very searching enquiry to which so
many able geologists have devoted themselves, has probably overcome
the difficulty, and at length pointed out the true position of the slates
and granites of Devon and Cornwall. More extended information
respecting the geology of these counties must be sought for, in the
various interesting memoirs which have been published on this subject
by the writers already referred to, and also by Professor Phillips,
Mr. Austen, Rev. D. Williams, Col. Harding, &C. whose contributions
are to be found in the various Reports of tiie British Association.

Muhchisik's Anniversary Address. Ctotogieal Proceedings, roL it,, p. 9S.
Voyage of the Beagle.

Hi'Pkisb. Cambridge Philotophieal Tram., vol. vi., nnd Philosophical Mage
Us la Beciik'. Report, p. 41k).

APPENDIX,

SOIL AND AGRICULTURAL CAPABILITIES OF
DARTMOOR.

By Edwaui) Moore, k

., late Secretary Lo the Plymouth Institution.

This has been, for a long period, very debateable ground, and the
efforts which have been occasionally made to render this barren spot
productive, have been, in most instances, unsuccessful ; it is from
this fact, that the prevailing opinion among the moormen arises, that
it is incapable of cultivation. Still, when the difficulties to be sur-
mounted are considered, it may be a question whether the defect is
to be fairly attributed to the climate, elevation, or soil. Much, no
doubt, is owing to the exposure,* the snow drills in winter, and long-
continued rains in autumn ; but that is no more than occurs in all
Alpine countries, and is not wholly destructive of vegetation in
Scotland or Switzerland. The right of" common enjoyed by the
inhabitants of the parishes surrounding the moor, and which is a
great drawback to improvement, may have some influence on the
opinion, and also the application of plants to the soil which it is not
physically calculated to sustain, may be taken into account, and which
the late improvements in chemistry may enable us to surmount : we
will endeavour to illustrate this as we proceed.

It is scarcely to be expected that the debris of the granite rocks
should support such a luxuriant vegetation, as the more favoured
spots resting on the schists and trap-rocks of the surrounding districts ;
still it may be a question, whether much of the barren appearance be
BOl chiefly owing to a want of adequate shelter from the cold and
high winds which the more elevated localities are exposed to, since
throughout the moor many of the dells and ravines, between the
tors and in the neighbourhood of the rivers, present much fertility.

• In Woolmrr'M Ezttcr Gaxetle, for December 7. 1839, occur Ihe following obaer-
TulionB. in a communication from the Hev. J. H. Mason: — " I attended Mr. VancouTer,
when he viewed the inonr. previously to hi? publishing hi* Survey of Union ; and he
imMintd that Ihe blichis the luwlnnds "p subjret to. were uccasiuricd by winds which
blew across the mass of pent. At Lydford, Ihe S.E. wind, ntid at W id de com be, the
N.W., was injurious." Such statements from competent authority, should always be
borne in mind, in all speculations on the agricultural capabilities of the moor. — S. 11.

212

PERAMBULATION OF UARTMOOE.

Wistman's Wood, whose gnarled and stunted appearance is always
quoted as an instance of want of congeniality or climate, may as
readily be adduced as an indication of what Nature can perform
there, in spite of the obstacles which exist. One of the necessary
ingredients for successful cultivation, (water,) is presented in the
i rivers and smaller streams which diversify the surface of

the b

The soil of Dartmoor, at the surface, is chiefly peat, which for
ages has been accumulating in the bottoms between the tors, so as to
be occasionally found from one to twenty-five feet* in thii
lessening in depth as we ascend the higher grounds, where it is nui
above a few inches thick. The subsoil is fine sand, which is etn
beneath the peat in the numerous pits made to obtain gravel for the
various roadways. The depth of this is uncertain, probably filling up
all the inequalities between the different granite peaks. The present
state of the moor indicates less a want of fertility than of luxuriance.
It is not deficient in grass, and the whole forms a fine pasture for
cattle, sheep and horses. At Baredown Farm, near Two Bridges, a
very good plantation is now flourishing. The efforts of Sir Thomas
Tyrwhitt, at Tor Royal, though at first successful, have not been
followed out with equal energy, yet much benefit may be expected
from recent facilities of conveyance. A granite soil is not in itself
wholly unproductive, since, in low situations, the growans of Cornwall
are not deficient iu that particular ;f and it has long been known that
ihe neighbourhood of Penzance supplies abundance of potatoes to the
London and Plymouth markets, and tliat of Exeter is chiefly fur-
nished from the neighbourhood of More ton itself- De la Beche
observes J that oaks, ash, and sycamore, grow well in growan, or
granite soils, in sheltered situations, and though from their n
to part with their moisture, these soils are less calculated for the
support of fibrous than of bulbous roots, yet in Dartmoor the gnal
quantity of moisture which exists will compensate lor this de
quality. Sir Humphrey Davy observes, tj in a moist climate, a
"siliceous sandy soil is much more productive than in dry dial
And the same author states, that a sandy or gravelly sufi-soil, (such
as exists in Dartmoor,) " often corrects the imperfections of too great
a degree of absorbent power in the true soil." (p. 163.) "A soil,"'
(says Liebig,||) "formed by the action of the weather on the com-
ponent parts of granite, &c, will become a magazine of alkalies, in a
condition favourable for their assimilation by the roots of plants."

In order to display the qualities of Dartmoor soil, in a more
particular manner, let us make a few observations on soils in general,
and their action on plants during vcgetatioi

• Ne«r Row Tot it is thirty feet deep.

t Seu Dr. BoAir, litol'iytail TroH&actunu of Cornwall

; Hepiirt on Geology of Devon twit Cormratt. p. ilb.

>} .lyri^utlitrtUCicmtfiiry,p. [I\l.

|| Ckentiury of Agriculture and Physiology, p. 136.

ACR1C11/J I It A I. I AI'Alill.l'l ll>.

213

Soils are compounds of earths, silica, alumina, lime, magnesia,

f iron and manganese, animal and vegetable matters in a

losing state, and (saline or alkaline combinations, {Dam/,

Ll.il -,j and the best natural soils are those of which the materials
ve been derived from different strata, intimately blended together.
A soil may be considered a magazine of morganic matters, which arc
prepared by the plant to suit the purposes destined for them in its
nutrition. (Lii'big,-p. 10.)

Th» ultimate constituents of plants are those of organic matter
;il, viz., carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. These are
united in various ways: in one, to form woody fibre, starch, gum,
jar; in another for the organic acids; in a third manner, to
bun volatile and fixed oils, wax, and resins ; and in a fourth, to
produce albumen and gluten. A plant, therefore, requires for its
development, the presence of substances containing carbon and nitro-
gen; of the elements of water, (viz., oxygen and hydrogen,) and
also of the soil, to furnish the inorganic matters essential to its vitality.

Acids and alkalies are the most important division of inorganic
substances, both having a tendency to unite together and form
neutral salts ; then alkaline earths, metallic oxides, &c. They vary
according to the soil, and are obtained by chemical forces, guided by
the vital principle, acting on the ingredients in solution, which are
absorbed by the roots, and the substances thus conveyed to plants, are
retained in greater or less quantity, or entirely separated, when not
suited for assimilation. Sea plants require metallic iodides for their
growth, and alkalies and alkaline earths, (found in their ashes,) are
necessary for the development of land plants.

In spring, when the organs of plants are absent which nature
has appointed for the assumption of nourishment from the atmo-
sphere, the component substance of the seeds is exclusively employed
in the formation of the roots, which perform the functions of leaves,
from the first moment of their formation ; they extract from the soil
their proper nourishment, viz., the carbonic acid, generated by the
humus.* ( Bulbs and tubers do not require food from the soil, and
this class of plants is ranked amongst those which do not exhaust a
soil, p. 60.) By loosening the ground, we favour the production of
carbonic acid. The plant, as it increases, itself effects this change,
and receiving food, both by its roots below and other organs above
ground, rapidly advances to maturity ; and when the leaves, by which
it obtains food from the atmosphere are fully formed, the carbonic
acid of the soil, is no longer required, (p. 41).) When the food of a
plant is in greater quantity than its organs require, the superfluous
nourishment is employed in the formation of new organs. The
functions of leaves are to absorb carbonic acid, and with the aid of
;ht and moisture, to appropriate its carbon, which serves for all the
lid matters of the plant. They also now produce sugar, starch.

■ Woody fibre in & state of decay is lie tubaUnce c»llod Humus.— Lie mq, p. IS.

PEKUtBUUTIOS !•!■ DiitrUOOK.

and acids. When woody fibre is produced, to a certain extent, the
supply of nourishment takea a new direction, and blossoms are pro-
duced. The functions of the leaves cease, upon the ripening of the
fruit, and these now yielding to the chemical influence of the oxygen
of the air, decay, change colour, and fall off. Thus, in the earlier
stages, the carbon is derived from the humus, or decayed vegetable
matter in the soil, which is not taken up unaltered, but presents a slow
and lasting source of carbonic acid, which acting in the same manner
in a soil permeable to the air, as in the air itself, is absorbed by the
roots. In a more mature state of the plant, the carbon is derived
from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere, (composed of oxygen,
nitrogen, carbonic acid, and ammonia,} which plants decompose, and
appropriating the carbon for their own use, give out the oxygen
again as soon as the direct or indirect rays of the sun strike them.

The fertility of a soil is much influenced by its physical pro-
perties of porosity, colour, attraction for moisture, and state of
disintegration ; but independently of these, fertility also depends on
the chemical constituents of which it is composed, (p. 199.) Alkalies,
earths, and phosphates, found in the ashes of plants, are indispensable
for their development. All the different families of plants are dis-
tinguished by containing certain acids, in combination with earthy
or alkaline bases. Thus, the vine contains tartaric ; the 60rrels,
oxalic ; and corn plants, silicic acid, extracted from the 6oil. There
are also, malic and citric acids, &c. The generation of these acids is
prevented, when alkalies are absent from the soil in which they grow ;
potash, soda, lime, and magnesia are thus as indispensable for the
existence of plants as the carbon from winch their organic acids arc
formed. Thus, the salts necessary for the support of the vital func-
tions, if wanting in the soil, or if the bases are absent, cannot be
formed, and the juice, leaves, and fruit cannot he matured. Different
plants require different acids and alkalies : soda is found in sahne
plants ; lime and potash, in corn-plants, &c. Upon the correct
knowledge of the bases and salts required for each plant, and on the
composition of the soil on which it grows, depends the
application of manures, and indeed the whole system of a rational
theory of agriculture. {Lttbig, p. 201.) Now in reference to Dart-
moor, a pure sandy soil is generally barren; but in the disintegration
of common granite, (which consists of quart/, felspar, and mica,)
certain chemical constituents are found, which form useful components.

Quartz is chiefly silica.

Felspar, according to Bucholz and Vauquelin, contains (i0 pel
cent of silica, 20 per cent of alumina, 14 per cent of potash, and a
little lime. Liobig states that it contains 17j per cent of potash, and
that albite, (pure felspar,) yields in addition 11.43 of soda. (p. 135.]
China-clay, or porcelain earth, is decomposed felspar.

Mica, according to Klaproth, yields by analysis, silica 47 per
cent, alumina 22 per cent, oxide of iron 15J per cent, potash 14{ per
cent, and a little manganese. Licbig says it contains only 3 to 5
per cent of potash; and according to Mr. Wallace, (Geological

?l"j

Proceedings, vol. 4, p. 193,) when binaxal, potash, the new alkali,
lithia, and also fluoric acid. When uniaxal, it contains magnesia,
but no lime.

In Dartmoor granite we find an abundance of Schorl, sometimes
with, and sometimes replacing the mica. This species of tourmaline
contains 36 per cent of silica, 84| per cent of alumina, 21 per cent
of oxide of iron, with a little potash, magnesia, and manganese,
together with a large portion of boracic acid. ( Klaproth.) The chief
want, therefore, in the granitic debris of Dartmoor is a greater
proportion of the alkaline earths, magnesia and lime, but these may-
be obtained in the neighbourhood. Limestones occur all round the
moor ; and hornblende, which is a component of the various trap-
rocks, abounds in magnesia and lime. ( Wialiace, p. 194.) Hence we
find nearly all the chemical ingredients necessary for vegetation in
the various rocks of this district.

Again, the earthy matter of peat soils is uniformly analogous
to that of the stratum on which they repose ; therefore different
peats on granite soils have always yielded ashes principally siliceous,
(Dory, p- 167,) but other important ingredients occur in them. A
barren heath, near Brunswick, according to Liebig, fp. 216,) yielded

I

Silica, with sand 92.651

Alumina 1.342

Oxides of iron and manganese 2.324

Lime, with sulphuric and phosphoric acid .... 0.929

Magnesia, with sulphuric acid 0.S83

Potash and soda, as sulphates and phosphates 0.564

Phosphoric acid, with lime 0.250

Sulphuric acid, with potash, soda, and lime . . 1,620

Chlorine in common salt 0.037

100.000

This heath was rendered fertile by manuring with lime, marl, cow-
dung, and the ashes of the heaths which grew upon it. The peat
then, besides furnishing these different salts, contributes also to form
the vegetable mould, or humus, necessary for the support of vege-
table life.

It will not be necessary to enter farther into the chemical
changes, which take place in plants, and which are fully explained
in Liebig's Treatise, it is presumed that enough has been stated to
point out that the soil of Dartmoor possesses qualities sufficient to
warrant a fair prospect of profitable returns, when submitted to the
ordinary processes of agriculture. The application of manures,
whether animal or vegetable, must be determined by the necessities
of the particular plants requiring to be cultivated, which if not found
in the soil, must be externally supplied, for it is certain that the soil
must gradually lose those of its constituents, which are removed
the seeds, roots and leaves of plants reared upon it. Now in

Dartmoor the great quantity of silica, will afford one of the i
ingredients for all the gramineous plants, and this is shown in the
luxuriance sometimes observed in corn grown on the moor. Mr.
Frcan informs me, that some of his fields have yielded stalks of com-
plants six feet in height.

The attempts which have been made, from time to time, to bring
this waste spot, into profitable use, will no doubt ultimately convert it
into productive land. Great improvements were effected at Tor
Royal, by the late Sir T. Tyrwhitt, amidst many disadvantages from
the want of good roads. The progress may be slow, and it must be
admitted that an isolated endeavour ia not so likely to be beneficial,
as where many similar measures are being carried out at the same
time. Let any one pass over the district, or examine a good map,
and he will find that all the parts of the granite soil, east of a line,
drawn from Buckland through Widdecornbe, North Bovey, and
Moreton to Drewsteigntou, arc already brought into cultivation.
The increasing population, in past years, pressing westward from the
neighbourhood of Exeter, has gradually surmounted the obstacles
of elevation and climate, and daily encroachments are still making on
all the borders. The large number of workmen (200) employed at
Koggintor Granite Quarry, who have no accommodation there, ha*
induced the Messrs. Johnson to cause numerous cottages to be erected
for their use, and gardens have already been appropriated to them.
A naphtha company has lately been established at the site of the
prisons, near Prince Town, and it is found that by distilling the
peat, many useful products, i\s naphtha, camphine, &c, are produced.
These Naphtha Works are under the management of .Mr. Drew, the
inventor of the plan of proceeding, who resides there. The interior
is lighted with gas obtained from the peat ; and when in full eporatUB,
the consumption of peat will exceed thirty-six tons per day.

Mr. Frean and others have established a powder manufactory
near Two Bridges, and Mr. J. N. Bennett, solicitor, of Plymouth,
has erected a dwelling-house, and inclosed 150 acres of land, uo
Arche Tor, or Archeton Hill, in the centre of the moor. All these
measures, by causing a demand for the wants of an increasing popu-
lation, are gradually bringing the moor within the infiaeoot
properly conducted industry of man. Taking therefore into consi-
deration the prospects arising from the above statements, and noticing
the luxuriance of those plants, which nestle in sheltered situations on
all parts of the moor, we may infer that the principal desidcr.i:
any attempts which may be made towards its cultivation, is, pro-
tection from the one evil of boisterous winds ; and the properly-
directed efforts of an industrious population may, by the erei
hedges and walls, and the formation of plantations, at length,
in rendering its excellent natural qualities ultimately available.

APPENDIX,

BOTANY OF DARTMOOR.

i Moose, M.D., I.L.I., late Secretary to the Plymouth Institution.

A granitic district, it is well known, is always regarded as barren
and unproductive, and Dartmoor cannot be considered to be different
in this respect from its congeners, even although the term " Forest,"
applied to great part of it, may load to the inference that, in earlier
ages, it might have been dotted with trees and shrubs ; indeed trunks
of tolerably-sized trees have been occasionally found in the bogs, the
roots of one of which, indicating a considerably advanced growth, is
now in the Museum of the Plymouth Institution. Stdl, after all, the
appellation may only mean to be used in the loose sense of a Forest,
or Chase, fit for the resort of game, and the recreation of the nobility
of feudal times. But, it is in just such a place as this, where nature
is left in full sway, unmolested by the operations of man, that the
botanist meets with his greatest rarities, and many a spot exists on
the moor, in which the explorer of nature may fancy himself, far
removed from the busy haunts of men, where the view is bounded
only by the surrounding tors and sky, and where the awful silence,
which reigns around, will afford ample opportunity for sublime con-
templation, only interrupted perhaps, by the sudden flight of the
ring-ouzel, scared by his presence from its nest; or he may be occa-
sionally startled from his reverie by the screams of the curlew, or the
shrill whistle of the lapwing, dotterel, or stone plover.

It will be in vain to attempt a full account of all the vegetable
productions which occur in wild luxuriance, in this region, but many
of the following are peculiar to it, or otherwise considered as rare in
botanical collections. They are nearly all found within the granite
borders, and most of them are represented in Smith and Sowerby's
" English Botany," or Greville's Cryptogamia. The natural system

218 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR. *

of classification is adopted from Hooker's "British Flora;" the
localities are from Jones and Kingston's " Flora Devonienns," except
where otherwise specified.

CLASS I.

EXOGENOUS PLANTS— DICOTTLEDONBS.

* English Names. Latin Nambs. Locality.

Ord. 1.— ^Crowfoot Tribe. 1. — Banuneulaeett.
Water Crowfoot Ranunculus aquAtilis Dartmoor. (M.)

Ord. 3.— Water Lily Tr. 3.—Nytnph<eactce.

Yellow Water Lily Nupharlutea Do. (M.)

Ord. 4. — Poppies. 4. — Papaveracea.

Long Rough-headed Poppy Papa?er argemone North Boyey.

Ord. 5. — Fumitories. 5. — Fumariacece.

Ramping Fumitory Fomaria capreolata N. Borey, Manatoa.

Climbing do claucnlata Wistman's Wood.

Ord. 6.— CruciformTribe 6.—Cruciferce.

Sub. Ord. — Pleurorhise.

Cuckow Flower Cardamine pratensis Bogs on the moor. (M.)

Naked-stalked Candy Tuft Teesdalia nudicaulis Moreton, N. Borey.

Sub. Ord. — Notorhixee.

Treacle-hedge Mustard .... Erysimum cheiranthoides . . Do. do.

Hairy Pepperwort Lepidinm hirtum Dartmoor, generally.

Sab. Ord.— Orthoplocec.

Field Cabbage Brasaica campeatris Moreton, N. Borey.

Wild Rape rapus Do. do.

Ord. 9. — Violets. 9.—Violarie€e.

Marsh Violet Viola palustris Do. do.

Ord. 10. — Sundews. 10. — Drosseracece.

Round-leayed Sundew .... Drossera rotundifolia . . . • Bogs on the moor.

Ord. 1 4.— Chickweed Tr. 1 4.— CaryophyUe <B.

English Catchfly Silene anglica Lustleigh, Manaton.

Moss do — — acaulis Dartmoor. (Hudson.)

Meadow Lychnis Lychnis flos-cuculi Do. (M.)

Awl-shaped Spurrey Spergula subulata Blackytor.

Knotted do « nodosa Heytor.

Bog Stitch-wort Stellaria uliginosa Dartmoor. (M.)

Ord. 15. — Flaxes. 15. — Linece.

Allseed Radiola millegrana Heytor Down.

Ord. 17.— Linden Tribe. 17.— Ttliaccce.

Small-leaTed Lime Tree . . Tilia panrifolia Woods on the Dart (Mr. T.

Abraham.)

BOTANY OF DARTMOOR

219

Eholuh NiMEB.

Ori. 18.— TiUwt Tribe.
Miinh St. John's Wort . .

Lstih Namis.
1 8. — Hypericinece .

Log a lit t.

Bogs on the moor. 1 M. )
Do. (M.)

More ton.
Dartmoor. (.M.)

Ord. 20.— CraneabillB.
Hemlock-leared Craneabil

20 . — Geraniacece .
Geranium ganguincum ■ ■ .

Ord. 24.— Buckthorns.
Alder Buckthorn

24. — Rhamnece.

Rbamnua frangula

Morelon.

Ord. 25.— Pea Tribe.

25. — Legumin osce.

Peak Hill. (M.)
Do. (M.)

Bogs, Widdecombe,
Dartmoor. (H.)

Do. (M.)

N. Boiey, Manaton,

Do.

Dartmoor. (Bl.)

Needledo

Smooth Round-beaded Tie

Trifolium glomeratum . . .
Omithopus perpusillus

Tuberous Bitter Vetch

Ord. 26.— Romccous Tr

Orange Alpine Cmquefoil . .
Procumbent Sibbaldia

26. — Rosacea.

Sub. Ord. — Amygdaless.

N, Bovey.

Manaton, Widdecombe,
Dartmoor. (M.)
Do.
Do.

Widdecombe.
Dartmoor. (H.)

Sourlon, Morelon.

Chagford.

L-ustleigh.

Highest ton, Wisunui'a
Wood.

Sub. Ord. — Dry tide IE.

Potenlilla alpeatria

Torraenlilla officinalis! . . .
Sibbaldia procumbena . . .
Sub. Ord. — Sanguisorbie.

Sub. Ord.— Rosen.
Sub. Ord. — Pomaceai.

OnL 28.— Horse-tail Tr

Spiked Waler-Millfuil ...

28. — Haloragem.

Myriopnyllum spicatum . . ■

Dartmoor. (M.)
Fingle Bridge

Ord. 30.— Loosestrife Tr

Wiiti Purslane

30. — L y tkrariet .

Luatleigl), Bucltland.

Ord.34.— Knot, grass Tr

34 . — Paronycliiea.

lileccbruoi verticil latum

Dartmoor.

Ord. 35 —House Leeks

35 . — Crastulaceir.

DaHmoor. (M.)
Buckland,
Dartmoor. (M.)

$£0 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Ord. 36.— Currant Tribe. 36. — Grossulariea.

Wild Currant , Ribes rubrum Widdecombe, N. Bovey.

Ord. 37.— Saxifrage Tr. 37 \SaxifragecB.

Mossy Saxifrage Saxifraga hypnoides Dartmoor. (M.)

Ord. 38. — Umbelliferous 38. — Umbelliferce.
Tribe.

Common Whiterot Hydrocotyle vulgaris Do. (M.)

Ord. 43. — Madder Tribe. 43. — RtMacece.

Goose Grass Galium aparine Do. (M.)

Ord. 46. — Compound Fl. 46. — Composite.

Alpine ttawkweed Hieracium alpinum Do. (M.)

Shrubby do. ... subaudum .... Manaton, Hennock.

Wall do murorum Heytor, Dunsfbrd.

Narrow-leaved do ■ umbellatum .... Fingle Bridge.

Common Tansy Tanacetum vulgare Moreton, N. Bovey.

Least Cudweed Gnaphalium minimum .... Widdecombe.

Mountain do dioicum Dartmoor. (M.)

Corn Chamomile Anthemis arvensis Moreton.

Ord. 47. — Bell Flowers. 47. — Campanulacea.

Ivy-leaved Bellflower .... Campanula hederacea .... Moreton, &c

Ord. 49.— Heatbs. 49.—Ericea.

Fine-leaved Heath Erica cinerea Dartmoor, generally.

Cross-leaved do tetralix Do.

Ling or Heather Call una vulgaris Do.

Whortle Berry Vaccinium myrtillus Do.

Trailing Azalea Azalea procumbens Do. (M.)

Marsh Andromeda Andromeda polifolia Do.

Ord. 56. — Bindweed Tr. 56. — Convolvulacea.

Great Bindweed Convolvulus sepium N. Bovey.

Lesser Dodder Cuscuta epithymum Moreton.

Ord. 57. — Borage Tribe. 57. — Boraginece.

Great Scorpion Grass Myosotis palustris Dartmoor.

Bog Pimpernel Anagallis tenella Do.

Ord. 59. — Broom-rape Tr 59. — Orobanchea.

Great Broom-Rape Orobanche major Moreton, Lustleigh.

Ord. 60. — Fig wort Tribe. 60. — ScrophulartnecR.

Alpine Speedwell Veronica alpina Dartmoor. (M.)

Rock do. — ^— — saxatilis Do.

Marsh do scutellata Do.

Water do anagallis Do.

Brooklime beccabunga .... Do.

Water Figwort Scrophularia aquatica .... Do.

I ry- leaved Snapdragon .... Antirrhinum cymballaria .. Churchyard Walls, Widde-
combe.

Sharp -pointed Toad-flax . elatine Moor, generally.

Cornish Money -wort Sibthorpia europsea Tor, near Harford. (Sir F.

Drake.)

BOTANY OF DARTMOOR. 221

English Names. Latin Nambs. Locality.

Ord. 6 1 . — Mint Tribe. 6 1 . — Labiate.

Gypsy-wort Lycopus europaeus Dartmoor. (M.)

Round-leaved Mint Mentha rotundifolia N. Bovey.

Mother- wort Leonurus cardiaca Do.

Hooded Scullcap Scuttellaria galericulata . . F ingle Bridge.

Lesser do « minor Bogs on the moor.

Self-heal Prunella vulgaris Dartmoor. (M.)

Ord. 63.— Wort Tribe. 63,—Lentibularia:.

Pale Butterwort Pinguicula lusitanica Bogs on the moor.

Greater Bladder- wort .... Utricularia vulgaris Do. (M.)

Ord. 66. — Plantains. 66. — Plantagineaz.

Plantain Shoreweed Littorella lacustris Sands, near Widdecombe.

Ord. 68. — Goosefoot Tr. 68. — Chenopodeaz.

Wild Spinach Chenopodium bonus Hen-

ricus Widdecombe.

Ord. 69.— Buckwheat Tr. 69.—Polygonea.

Common Bistort Polygonum bistorta Do.

Great Water-dock Rumex hydrolapathum .... Dartmoor. (M.)

Common Sorrel acetosa Do. (Miss S. Baron.)

Ord. 76.— Nettles. 76.—Urtice<B.

Wild Hop Humulus lupulus N. Bovey.

Ord-78. — Catkin-bearing 78. — Amentacea.

Tribe.

Sub. Ord.— Salicineae.

Crack Willow Salix Fragilis Dartmoor. (M.)

White do alba Do.

Sub. Ord.— Cupuliferae.

Beech Fagus sylvalica N.E. of Roundel Stone. (M.)

Oak Quercus robur , Wistman's Wood. (M.)

Ord. 79.— Gale Tribe. 79.—Myriceaz.

Sweet Gale Myrica gale Bogs, Manaton.

CLASS II.

ENDOGENOUS PLANTS— MONOCOTYLEDONES.

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Ord. 85. — 85. — Pistiacece.
Leaser Duckweed Lemna Minor Bogs, Manaton.

Ord. 86.— Floating Tr. 86.— Naiades.
Perfoliate Pondweed .... Potamogeton perfoliatus . . Do.

2 F

222 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

r

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Ord. 92. — Rushes. 92. — Juncece.

Asphodel Narthecium ossifragum .... Bogs on the moor.

Soft-rush J uncus effusus Do.

Common do conglomerate .... Do.

Great Wood-rush Luzula sylvatica Dartmoor. (Miss S. Baron.)

Ord. 94.— Orchis Tribe. 94.—Orchida>.

Dwarf Orchis Orchis ustulata Shaugh Vale. (M.)

Pyramidal Orchis pyramidalis Bogs. (Miss S. Baron.)

Butterfly Orchis Habenaria bifolia Widdecombe.

Ord. 95.— Iris Tribe. 95.— Iridece.

Yellow Water Iris Iris pseudacorus Dartmoor.

Ord. 98. — Grasses. 98. — Graminece.

Reed Canary -grass Phalaris arundinacea • . . • Do.

Bristle-leaved Bent-grass . . Agrostis setacea Do.

Purple Melic -grass Melica csrulea Do.

Blue Moor-grass Scsleria ca?rulea Do.

Reed Meadow-grass Poa aquatica Do.

Floating do fluitans Do.

Alpine do alpina Do.

Ord. 99. — Sedges. 99. — Cyperacece.

Prickly Twig-rush Cladium mariscus Do. (M.)

Black Bog-rush Schacnus nigricans Do.

White Beak-rush Rhyncospora alba Do.

Bull-rush Scirpus lacustris Streams. (M.)

Floating Spike-rush Eleocharis fluitans Do.

Many-stalked do multicaulis .... Do.

Creeping do palustris Dartmoor. (M.)

Scaly-stalked do ^__ cacspitosa Do.

Hare's-tail Cotton-grass . . Eriophorum vaginatura .... Bogs. (M.)

Broad-leaved do polystiehion . . Do.

Common do augustifolium . . Do. (Miss S. Baron.)

Flea Carex Carex pulicaris Do.

Tufted-bog do ca?spitosa Hamildown.

Great pendulous do pendula Widdecombe.

Great panicled do paniculata Dartmoor. (M.)

Lesser common do paludosa Do.

Greater common do riparia Do.

CLASS III.

CELLULAR PLANTS.— ACOTYLEDONES.

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Ord. 100.— Ferns. 100.— Filices.

Sub. Ord. — Polypodiacerc.

Mountain Polypody Polypodium phegopterus . . Beckey Fall.

Common do vulgare Moor, generally.

Prickly Shield-fern Aspidium aculeatum Dartmoor.

Lesser crested do — — spinulosum Woods, Dunsford.

Filmy-leaved do Hymenophyllum Tun-

bridgense Rocks, Wistman's Wood.

BOTANY OF DARTMOOR.

223

nglish Names. Latin Nahbs.

Sub. Ord. — Lycopodiacee.

>n Club-moss Lycopodium claratum . . .

seiago

01. — Mosses.

101. — Musci.

Falcate Andrea .... Andrea Rothii

eared Bog-moss ....
•ear-shaped Beardless

>ear-shaped do

hint-fruited do

ed do

leaked Weissia ....

do

j rim mi a

eared do

ng Fringe-moss ....

do

d hoary do

inted do

as do

ired Fork-moss ....

lo

do

pur-fruited do

se do

e Screw-moss
iring Hair-moss

:ed do

Thread-moss . .
.rent green do.
yme do. ......

do

?ndulous do. . .

»cked do

ine do. . .
I bog do.
a Apple-moss
alked do. ...
Pterogonium

eckera

us Anomodon
'ater-moss ...

lo

Hookeria . . .
eather-moss .

r*s do

do

5 do

nted do.
g-leared do. .

o

do

-leared do. .
rared do. ...

lo

i do

rested do. ...

Sphagnum obtusifolium

Gymnostomum fasciculare . .
— — — - pyriforme ..
— — — — truncatulum.
Anictangium ciliatum ....

Weissia cunrirostra

crispula ,

Grimmia orata
Didymodon heteromallus
Trie hostomum patens ...

lanugino8um .
heterostichum
microcarpon .
fasciculare ..

Dicranum taxifolium

glaucum

flexuosum

rirens ,

strumiferum

Tortula reroluta

Polytrichum urnigerum

undulatum . .

Bryum palustre

crudum

» # • •

roseum . . .
turbinatum .
nutans
elongatum .
alpinum ...
rentricosum

Bartrammia marchica

arcuata

Pterogonium gracile

Neckera pumila •

Anomodon curtipendulum . .
Fontinalis antipyretica ....

squarrosa

Hookeria lucens

Hypnum donianum

— — schreberi

alopecurum

• dendroides

— — piliferum

Bquarrosum

■ palustre

— — fluitans

rugosum ..
uncinatum
undulatum
scorpioides
molluscum

Locality.

Heaths, Dartmoor. (M.)
Do.

Rocks on the moor, near S.

Zeal.
Bogs on the moor. (M.)

CosdonHill. (Dr. Grerille.)

N. Borey.

Moor, generally.

Downs, Dartmoor. (M.)

Granite rocks.

Do. Yannaton Down.

Hey tor.

Cosdon Hill. (Grerille.)

Sheepstor, Dewerstone.

(Rer. J. Tozer.)
Rocks, Lustleigh.
Do. N. Borey.
Lustleigh, N. Borey.
Do. Dunsford.

Widdecombe.
Bogs. (M.)

Cosdon HU1. (Grerille.)
Prison. (M.)
Hey tor.

N. Bovey Bridge.
Streams, White works.
Moor. -

Bogs on do. (M.)
Do.

Hedges, N. Bovey.
Whiteworks. (Tozer.)
Peak Tor. (Tozer.)
Wild Tor.
Heytor Down.
Bogs on the moor. (M.)
Do.

Cosdon Hill. (Grcville.)
Lustleigh, Botter Rock.
N. Bovey.

Tore, Wistman'sWood. (M.)
Streams. (M.)
Prince Town. (To^er.)
Streams, Beckey Fall.
Woods, Man a ton.
Dartmoor. (M.)
Do. Lustleigh Cleve.

Do.

Man a ton.
Prison. (M.)
Prince Town (M.)
Source of Plym. (Tozer.)
Do. of Tory-brook. (Tozer.)
Manaton.
Do.

Source of Tory-brook. (T.)
Heaths, Dartmoor. (M.)

>2. — Liverworts. 102. — Hepaticce.

Jungermannia Jungermannia albicans .... Tors. (Rer. Mr. Newberry.)

224 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Ladder Jungermannia .... Jungermannia scalaris .... Houndtor Wood.

Hollow-leaved do cochleariformis Streams on the moor. (M.)

Toothed do barbata Beckey Fall.

Creeping do reptnns Houndtor Wood.

Silvery alpine do julacea Streams of Dartmoor. (M.)

Ord. 103. — Lichens. 103. — Lichenes.

Brown Mushroom Bceomyces Baeomyces rufus Rocks, Heytor Down.

Grey -clouded Endocarpon . . Endocarpon miniatum Tors, Mo re ton, Ac.

Brownish-black Lecidea . . Lecidea fusco-atra Tors on the moor. (M.)

Confluent shielded do confluens Do.

Black shielded do parasema Do.

Map do altro-virens Do. Heytor.

White do alba Do. N. Bovey.

Frosty shielded do albo-ccerulescens . . Do.

Rusty shielded do caesio-rufa Do.

Rock do — — petrsea Do. Ingsdon.

Red Spangled Lecanora . . Lecanora ventosa Do. Heytor.

Wall-eyed do glaucoma Do. Widdecombe.

Crab's-eye do., or Perelle . . perella • Do. Doddiscombleigh.

Tartareous do. (Cudbear) . . tartarea* Do. Blackstone.

Blood-speckled L __ hcematomma .... Highest tors.

Yellow wall do ~__ murorum More ton.

Glomuliferous Parmelia . . Parmelia glomulifera .... Trees, Chagford.

Perforate shielded do '■ perforata Granite rocks.

Bright green do herbacea Chagford, Lustleigh.

Purple rock do —__ omphalodes .... Tors, Mo re ton.

Sunburnt do aquila Tors, Botter Rock.

Borrer's do borreri Trees, N. Bovey.

Chesnut shielded do conspersa Rocks, Wist man 'sWood.(M)

Lungwort Sticta Siicta pulmonaria Trees, Lustleigh Cleave.

Pitted do scrobiculata Do. N. Bovey.

Mealy-bordered do limbata Rocks, do.

Pitted wood do sylvatica Hedges, near the moor.

Jagged Collema Collema lacerum N. Bovey, Moreton.

Marginal do marginale Walls, N. Bovey.

Thrush Peltidea Peltidea aphthosa Woods, Lustleigh.

Dark-ground do ___ rufescens Manaton, N. Bovey.

Many-fingered do ■ polydactyla .... Beckey Fall.

• These two yield a red dye ; the Cudbear however is inferior to the Perelle, which
equals the celebrated Archil (Rocella tinctoria) which grows on maritime rocks, and is
abundant on those of the Scilly Islands. — E. M.

These Lichens a few years since formed a profitable article of commerce. In
September, 1843, the host of the Saracen's Head, Two-Bridges, informed me that he had
often been employed to receive the moss collected from the rocks in that neighbourhood,
and to send it to Plymouth for exportation. At Trowlsworthy, on the southern borders
of the moor, the warrener gave me a similar account, in June, 1843, stating that although
the women and children, who gathered the lichen, were obliged to use a kind of chisel
to detach it from the rocks, they could procure as much as would pay them at the rate of
two shillings a day. But in former years the demand must have been greater. Lysons re-
lates that in the years from 1762 to 1767, inclusive. Mr. Davey collected from the rocks and
tors of Dartmoor nearly one hundred tons of the lichen tartarea. Many tons of the lichen
perella were collected in the neighbourhood of Okehampton, about twenty yean ago.
•• After they have been well stripped," remarks Lysons, " it requires many years to clothe
the rocks again with these vegetable productions." The Rev. E. A. Bray, (Tamar and
Tavy, vol. 1, p. 128,) noticing the mosses of Dartmoor says, * 4 1 amuse myself with fancy-
ing that I have discovered an allusion in Pliny, to the beautiful scarlet moss still found
on the moor, which not many years ago, was used as a dye for cloth." Pliny says, when
speaking of British dyes, that '*they were enriched by wonderful discoveries, and that their
purples and scarlets were produced only by certain wild herbs." — S. R.

BOTANY OF DARTMOOR. 225

English Nambs. Latin Nambs. Locality.

Resupinate Nephroma .... Nephroma resupinata . . . . Rocks and trees, Chagford.

Snout Gyrophora Gyrophora proboscidea .... Tors, Dartmoor. (M.)

Corroded do „• __ erosa Do. (Rev. Mr. Newberry.)

Fringed do __ cylindrea Do. ( Rev. Mr. Newberry.)

Burnt do deusta Rocks, near Prison. (M.)

Blistered do pustulata Blackstone, Scobitor.

Fleecy do pellita Heytor Down.

Glaucous Cetraria Cetraria glauca Heytor, Botter Rock.

Iceland do.* islandica Dartmoor. (M.)

Branny Borrera Borrera furfuracea Tors, Dartmoor. (M.)

Brasswire do flavicans Rocks and Trees.

Blistered Umbilicaria Umbilicaria pustulata .... Dartmoor. (Hooker.)

Fastigiate Ramalina Ramalina fastigiata Heytor, Lustleigh.

Rock do. f __ scopulorum .... Do. do.

Jointed Usnea Usnea barbata Widdecombe, Chagford.

Rock Hair J Alectoria jubata Heytor rocks, Lustleigh.

Dark Radiated Cornicularia Cornicularia tristis Rocks (Rev. Mr. Newberry)

Black woolly do lanata Do. (Rev. Mr. Newberry.)

Aculeated do spadicea .... Do. (Rev. Mr. Newberry.)

"White Isidium Isidium coral linum Do. Heytor Down.

Dubious do paradoxum Dartmoor. (M.)

Coral Sphsrophoron Spherophoron coralloides . . Do. Grimspound.

Tender do fragille .... Do. Sheepstor.

Compressed do ■ compressum Do. do.

Much-branchedStereocaulon Stereocaulon paschal e .... Do. Grimspound.

Clustered do botryosum . . Do.

Elk's-horn Cup-lichen .... Scyphophorus alcicornis . . Tors, common. (M.)

Endive-leaved do endivifolius . Heytor, Bottor Rocks.

Buckshorn do __— _^_— cervicornis .. Do. do.

Fringed do __ fimbriatus . . Do. N. Bovey.

Thread-shaped do — - filiform is . . Heytor Down.

Fingered do digitatus . . N. Bovey, Manaton.

Scarlet do cocciferus.. Tors. (M.)

Forked Cladonia Cladonia furcata Heaths on the moor.

Short perforated do uncialis Do.

Rein-deer Moss rangiferina . . . Do. Heytor Down.

Ord. 104. — Characeous 104. — Characea.
Tribe.

Common Chara Chara vulgaris Streams on the moor. (M.)

Hispid do hispida Bogs.

Flaccid do flexilis Do.

Ord. 105.— Water Flags. \05.—Algce.

Sub. Ord. — Confervoideee.

Moor Conferva Conferva ericetorum Dartmoor. (M.)

Purple do purpurascens Do.

Alpine do alpina Do.

Silky do bombycina Do.

Floccose do floccosa Do.

Inflated do - vesicata Do.

River do rivularis Do.

• This is the celebrated Iceland moss, made into cakes and eaten by the Ice-
landers, with grateful thanks, at a time when other food is scarce. It is used medicinally
in this country as a demulcent in coughs, &c.

f "This," says Hooker, p. 225, "appears to hold the place. in northern regions,
which Rocella tinctoria does in the southern."

X This affords food to the rein-deer in winter, as well as the cladonia ; but as it
is principally found on trees, these (when the snow is frozen) are purposely cut down that
the animals may more readily obtain it.

226 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

t

English Names. Latin Names. Locality.

Inflated Zygnema Zygnema inflatam Bogs, Heytor Down.

Orange Chxoolepus Chroolepus aureus Rocks on the moor. (M.)

Sub. Ord. — Gloiocladeae.

Rosy Palmeila Palmella rosea Woods, Manaton.

Plaited Nostoc Nostoc verrucosum Rocks and Streams. (M.)

Common do commune Dartmoor.

Ord. 106.— Mushrooms. 106.— Fungi.

Black-scaled Agaric Agaricus melleus Manaton.

Subacrid rufous do lactifluus Do.

Tawny do. farinaceus Do.

Moss do hypnoram Heytor, and near Prison.

Cinnamon Polyporus .... Polyporus perennis Woods, Moreton.

Real Amadou fomentarius .... Manaton.

Pepper Boletus Boletus piperatus Do.

Common Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus Beckey Fall.

The preceding list is confessedly an incomplete one ; the formation of a botanical
collection is a work of time ; that of Dartmoor can only be perfectly accomplished by
one who has leisure to reside on the spot ; by others, casual visits must be made at particu-
lar periods, during the flowering of the various plants, and that often under many disad-
vantages, where the botanist in the absence of all shelter, is exposed to sudden changes
of weather, and frequently drenched to the akin : such a misadventure becomes an effec-
tual damper to his zeal and ardour in the pursuit. Some unlucky instances of this kind, are
the excuse which the writer of this notice must plead for his deficiences of the present
contribution. The specimens noticed in the Flora Devoniensis are chiefly from the
east side of the moor, whilst those marked (M.) have been procured in the wild and less
cultivated district on the west side, within a circle of ten miles, taking Two-Bridges as a
centre.

Where the succession of the orders is not numerically followed, in the preceding
catalogue, it arises from the writer not having obtained plants belonging to those which
are omitted.

Instead of carping at such a catalogue as is here presented, the readers of the
Perambulation, will, 1 am persuaded, agree with me in feeling grateful to Dr. Moore,
whose interest in the natural history of his own neighbourhood has led him to find time
from the important professional duties of a physician, practising in a populous town, to
furnish the present ample list of the principal Plants, with the following catalogue of the
rarer Birds of the district, besides his valuable papers on the Geology and Agricultural
Capabilities of Dartmoor. — S. R.

APPENDIX,

No. IV.

ORNITHOLOGY OF DARTMOOR.

By Edward Moobs, m.d., ?.l.s, late Secretary to the Plymouth Institution.

The catalogue of Dartmoor birds will be found of a much more
limited character than the wildness of its aspect would lead us to
expect. The preservation of game, induces a watchful scrutiny of
the district, and no sooner does one of the elegant falcon tribe make
its appearance, than, under the name of vermin, it becomes a sacrifice
to the merciless gin or the gun of the gamekeeper. The progress of
cultivation, also, has tended to drive away the antient denizens of the
Forest, and the eagle, the bustard, the crane, and the kite are now
but seldom to be met with. The black cock is fast disappearing, and
though the ring-ouzel still clings to the locality, yet it may not be
long ere the extension of civilized life may deprive it of its resting-
place. The chronicler of the day, however, must take nature as he
finds it, and be content to register the changes which time in its
progress may effect. The present state of the moor still exhibits
that dreary character, which excites the admiration of the poet, and
the explorer of nature will yet discover many a spot where he may
fancy himself to be far removed from the busy haunts of men, where
the view is bounded by the surrounding tors and sky, and the awful
silence, which reigns around, will afford ample scope for divine
contemplation, only interrupted perhaps by the sudden flight of the
ring-ouzel, scared by his presence from its nest ; or he may occa-
sionally be startled from his reverie by the screams of the curlew, or
the shrill whistle of the lapwing or golden plover.

The aerial visitants of the moor itself are generally those whose
wild nature precludes their descending into the lower grounds ; but
the greater cultivation on its eastward side has occasioned its ornithology
to be there of a mixed character, while around its borders, where

2£8 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

■

good shelter occurs, we shall find most of the rarer specimens belonging
to the climate. The frequenters of the uncultivated parts are now
chiefly the sparrow-hawk, the hobby, the goshawk, the hen-harrier,
the brown, or marsh harrier, and the buzzard. In the neighbourhood
of the solitary turf cottage, may be found the crow, blackbird,
thrush, the redbreast, sparrow, chaffinch, and wren, and occasionally
the swallow and martin. Near the water-courses, are the wagtails,
the kingfisher, and water-ouzel. On the open downs and heaths, are
the skylark, titlark, wheatear, mountain-linnet, black-grouse, quail,
golden, great, and grey plovers, lapwing, dotterel, curlew, whimbrel,
snipe, purre, and sanderling. The common gull is an occasional
visiter, and the ring-ouzel remains the greater part of the year.

The great facility, which occurs in the neighbourhood of the
moor, for procuring specimens, has occasioned considerable attention
to be paid to ornithological pursuits, and collections have been made
in various parts of Devonshire. Besides those of Exeter, and of
Ashburton, (formed by the late Dr. Tucker,) I have derived assistance
from the following sources : —

Museum of the Eight Hon. the Earl of Morley, at Saltram.
: — in the Park of the Right Hon. the Earl of Mt. Edgcumbe.

of the Rev. K. Vaughan, Aveton GifFord.*

of John Newton, Esq., Millaton, Bridestow.

of the late W. Comyns, Esq., Mount Pleasant, Dawlish.*

of Richard Julian, Esq., at Estover.

of the Rev. Collins Trelawney, at Ham.

of Sir George Magrath, M.D., Plymouth.

of J. Whipple, Esq., Plymouth.

of Edward Moore, M.D., Plymouth.

of Mr. Bolitho, Plymouth.

of Mr. J. B. Rowe, Plymouth.

of the Athenaeum, Plymouth.

of the Natural History Society, Plymouth.

of the late Mr. Drew, Stonehouse.

of the Rev. W. S. Hore, Stoke.

of Cornelius Tripe, Esq., Devonport.

of Mr. Row, Devonport.

of J. Pincombe, Devonport.

The following list will include all that I can learn have been
found on the moor itself, for which the authority will be given, either
of the capture or of the collection in which the specimen may be now

* Now dispersed.

J

ORNITHOLOGY OF DARTMOOR. 229

seen, which in the case of Mr. Drew, Mr. Bolitho, J. Pincombe, and
myself, will be distinguished by the initials D. B. P. M. respectively.
Those which breed on the moor, will have the letter (4) appended
to the name, and the occurrence of any very rare bird in the
neighbourhood will be noticed in a separate list, the circumstances
respecting which will be detailed.

RAPTORES.

Sea Eagle, or Erne — Aqxdla albiciUa. A specimen obtained near the Eddy-
stone, some years ago, was kept alive by the late Addis Archer, Esq., at Leigham.
One, at Drew's, was shot in 1834, near Bridestow ; another, frequently seen on
Dartmoor, in 1832, was shot in October of that year, near Kingsbridge, by
W. Elliot, Esq. Polwhele* mentions a black eagle as formerly having a nest in
the woods of Eggeford, (a corruption of Eaglesford ?) and states it to have been
frequently seen on the moor.

The Osprey — Pandion haliceetus. Frequently seen on the moor, says Pol-
whele. Several specimens have been obtained : two in May, 1831, at Estovcr ;
another in September, 1831, is at Saltram ; one on the Avon, at the Rev. Mr.
Vanghan's ; another on the same river, now in the Rev. W. S. Horc's collection.

Peregrine Falcon, or Cliff Hawk — Falco peregrinus. Seen on Dartmoor
during the migrating seasons. One caught in a trap, at Mutley, in 1831, is at
Sir G. Magrath's ; others in the collection of the Athenaeum, Mr. J. B. Rowe,
and D. B. P.

Hobby Falcon — Falco subbuteo. Breeds in Devon, according to Polwhele.
In Lydford woods, Mr. Newton. Mr. G. Leach says, also, in Chebitor Wood.
Specimens at Millaton, Ham, and one in my possession, shot at Warleigh, June,
1830.

Kestrel — Falco tinnunculus. Mr. Newton, D. B. P. M.

Goshawk — Astur palumbarius. Seen on the moor. A specimen, at Bolitho's,
was shot on the nest, near South Tawton, in 1830.

Sparrow Hawk — Accipiter fringillarius. Mr. Newton, Mr. Rowe, D. B. P. M.

Kite — Milvus vulgaris. A specimen caught at Trowlsworthy warren,
Dartmoor, is in Capt. Morshead's collection, at Widey, 1831 ; another at Saltram ;
one at Sydenham's, 1835 ; D. B. ; but is annually becoming more rare.

Common Buzzard — Buteo vulgaris. Mr. Newton, D. P. B. M.

Hen Harrier (b) — Circus pygargus. Mr. Leach, D. B. P. M., m. and f., at
Saltram.

Marsh Harrier, or Moor Buzzard (b) — Circus rufus. Mr. Leach, Mr. Newton,
B. M.

INSESSORES.

Water Ouzel (b) — Cinclus aquaticus. Mr. Leach, D. B. M.
Missel Thrush (b) — Tvrdus viscivorus. M. B. D. P.

* History of Devonshire.

2g

230 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Song Thrush (b) — Tardus musicus. M. B. P. D.

Fieldfare— Turdus pilaris. M. B. P. D.

Redwing — Turdus iliacus. M. B. P. D.

Blackbird (b) —Turdus merula. M. B. P. D.

Ring Ouzel (b) — Turdus torquatus. Migrates in October ; returns in April
and breeds about the tors. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Hedge Warbler (b) — Accentor modularis. M. D. B.

Redbreast (b) — Sylvia rubecula. D. B. M.

Stonechat(6) — Saxicola rubicola. Mr. Leach, D. B. M.

Whinchat(ft) — Saxicola rubetra. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Wheatear(6) — Saxicola cenanthe. Mr. Leach, D. B. M.

Pied Wagtail(6)— Motacilla Yarrellii. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Grey Wagtail — Motacilla boarula. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Ray's (yellow) Wagtail — Motacilla flava. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Tit, or Meadow Pipit (b) — Anthus pratensis. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Skylark (b) — Alauda arvensis. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Woodlark — Alauda arborea. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Snow, or Tawny Bunting — Plectrophanes nivalis. Mr. Newton, D. B.

Yellow Bunting — Emberiza miliaria. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Chaffinch — FringiUa Calebs. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Brambling — FringiUa montifringilUu Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Mountain Sparrow — Pyrgita montana. Polwhele.

Sparrow (b) — Pyrgita domestica. M. D. B.

Twite — Linaria montana. Polwhele, D. M.

Bulfinch — Pyrrhula vulgaris. Mr. Leach, M. D. B.

Starling — Sturnus vulgaris. Mr. Leach, Mr. Newton, B. M.

Raven (b) — Corvus corax. Breeds on the moor, (Mr. Leach ;) at Tavy
Cleave, (Rev. S. Rowe ;) on Dewerstone, (E. Moore.)

Crow — Corvus corone. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.

Hooded Crow(6) — Corvus cornix. Said, by Pennant, (Zoology, vol. 2,) to
breed on the moor, but resorts to the coasts in the winter : is becoming very
scarce however. One at Mr. J. B. Rowe's, D. B.

Rook — Corvus frugilegus. D. M.

Jack-daw — Corvus monedula. D. M.

Magpie — Pica caudata. M. D. B.

Wren (b) — Troglodytes vulgaris. M. B.

Hoopoe — Upupa epops. Polwhele says it was shot on Dartmoor. Speci-
mens have been obtained at Millaton, Warleigh, Ham, and Saltram.

Cuckow — Cuculus canorus. M. D. B.

Kingfisher (b) — Alcedo hispida. Mr. Leach, M. B.

Swallow — Hirundo rustica. Mr. Leach, M.

Martin — Hirundo urbica. Mr. Leach, M.

Swift — Hirundo apus. Mr. Leach, M.
The swallows and martins, after leaving the nest, roost in large flocks in the low
brushwood of the borders of the moor.

RASORES.

Black Grouse (b) — Tetrao tetrix. Mr. Newton, M. B.

Red Grouse^ — Lagopus scoticus. A single specimen of this bird was shot on

ORNITHOLOGY OP HAHTMOOR. 331

DtoQaoor, in October, a few years since, by Mr. Newton, in whoao collection it.
remain*. I am also informed by Mr. C. I'ridcaux, of Dodbrook, tli.it a female of
the same species was shot mar St. .ki.nl nun, ■ f<-\\ mmi.- -inee, by Mr. Case, (on
tilt estate nuud Prance, j in whose poMoaaioa it now i>.

1 inajgm — Lagopvt mattu, A single specimen of this bird, in
snmmer plumage, wm also shut 00 Dartmoor, in October, by Mr. Newton, who
flU hag it in his ■

rVtridge(i) i'.-nli.i- •-imrai. Mr. Leach, B. M.

QmO — I'.nlix mturnu: Mr. Leach, B. M. hi 1846, a qnail, on a nest
with niiu- egga, was killed by a scythe, in a field of Mr. C I'ridcau\'s, at Dotl-
bruoL Poiwhclt- has seen tlie eijgs also in ll'e ]Mri.-h of Sherfurd.

GRALLATORES.

Great Plover — sEthtiieiiius m/iiltm*. Ilev. S. Rove, M. I!., ami U !l;nn.
Gulden Pl<jwr(b) — Cl"" , '"tri«*p!uvialis. Mr. Leach, Mr. Newton, l>. H. M.

■ood* often teen on the moor.
Dotterel — Cliayndriti* mormtllui. Rev. S. Rowo, U. Seven] of tbecs
Mr. Rowe on Chittaford Down, in September, 1828. My specimen was
shot un Dartmoor, in April, 1840.

Lapwingf/i) — VawMus crist.itm. Mi. Newton, B. M.
These, and thi- golden plover, are found in flicks, towards winter, on the borders
of the moor, and arc brought to market in groat numbers.

Sander ling ft) — Clmrailrins rttlitlrix. Mr. Newton, I). II. M. Often mia-
uken for, and not bo numerous &, the pnrre. It is seen mi the moor, from April
toJaJy.

Crane — Grus dnerta. Cranmere Pool, on Dartmoor, is supposed. In -nm.,
named, from the resort of cranes there in antietit times. A fine speci-
men, at Drew's, was shot on the borders, (at Buckland Munaehorum,) in 1826.

Black Stork— C't'oniVi ni;/™. A fine specimen was seen nn the moor in
1881, which was afterwards shot on the banks of the Tamar, and is now in
Drew's collection.

Link- Bittern — Botaums mimitus, Bridestow. Mr. Newton.
Night Heron — Nycticwoj: /•'iirn/iinm. Occasionally seen on the borders of the
moor. Specimens have been shot at Lcigbam. Two were in the Rev. Mr. Vaughau's
"■!!< iTi-.n, shot at Aveton Giflbrd.

Glossy Ibis — Fbu fakmellm. Borders of the moor. Shot at Warleigh ;
»l»o near Bride-stow, by Mr. Newton.

Cnrlew(&) — Numeimx arqaatu. Breeds on the swamps of the moor. Spe-
cimens at Mil la ton, Sal tram, D. B. M., &c.

: Sandpiper — TVanu* macularia. Mr. Newton, M.
Woodcock ft) — Sim Iojms > uMiMla. Polwhele says it breeds on Dartmoor.
In May, 1830, a young bird was shot at Cann Down, near Bickleigh Vale, which
N>'Ction at Saltram.

[6) — Scolopax gaJiinat/o. Mr. Leach, l>. U. M.
Grant Snt|ie — s,;./,./„t,- i,,uj<,r. (Jov. S. Hore. In November, 1646, a ser-
ir Anthony Boiler, shm a Kue specimen >>" hart moor, which «.i- sen! l«

Mr. Leaili. who informed Uie of the eircn instance, il is now in Hie museum ..I' the
l>eron and Cornwall Natural lllstorv Society, "tie at Mr. liow's.
Jack Snipe — .<o/„/„i.r i/nllhmh. Mr. Newton, B. M.

232 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Dunlin, or Purre (b) — Trmga alpvna. Breeds on the moor, and congregates
in flocks on the Lary in winter. M. D. B. P.

Land Rail (b) — Crex pratensis. Mr. Leach, D. M. B.

Water Rail — Rallus aquaticus. Mr. Leach, D. M. B.

Moor Hen (A) —Gallinula chloropus. Mr. Leach, M.

Coot(b) — FuUca atrcu Polwhele, Mr. Newton, M. Stated by Capt. Laakey
to breed there. (See Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 66.)

NATATORES.

Wild, or Grey -legged Goose — Anser palustris. Rare. Sometimes seen on
the moor, with other wild fowl. Mr. Newton had a specimen ; several were
brought to market daring the severe winter of 1830.

Bean Goose — Anser segetum, Mr. Newton, B. M.

White-fronted Goose — Anser albifrons. Mr. Newton, Saltram, M. B.

Whistling Swan — Cygnus ferns. Seen on the moor. One at Saltram, shot on
the Lary. Several were obtained on the borders, in 1830.

Wild Duck (b) — Anas boschas. Mr. Leach, B. M.

Teal — Querquedula crecca. Mr. Leach, D. B. M.

Herring Gull — Larus argentatus. Breeds on the coast. I saw one on
Dartmoor, October, 1846. These, with the black-backed, and red-legged gulls,
curlews, and purres, visit the Lary and other sand-banks in great numbers, on the
retreat of the tide.

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST.

The following list contains those which, though not known as
moor birds, yet having been obtained in the district through which
the Dartmoor rivers take their course to the sea, and being rarely
procured, are considered to be worth recording : —

Golden Eagle — Aquila chysaetos. Has been associated traditionally with
Dartmoor ; and Mr. Gosling, of Leigham, who was well-acquainted with the
subject, informed me that there was an old standing report, that its nest was
formerly known on the Dewcrstone.

Gyrfalcon — llieiwfalco gyrfalco. Mentioned by Polwhele. A fine specimen
obtained on the Lynher River, Feb. 7, 1834, is now at Pincombe's.

Merlin — Falco wsalon. Polwhele says that Mr. Elford saw several taken
from a nest on Roborough Down. Mr. Leach thinks this must have been the
hobby, as the merlin, is a winter visitant. Specimens at Mr. Newton's, D. B. M.

Rough-legged Buzzard — Buteo lagojws. One at Drew's, shot at Egg Buck-
land, November, 1836 ; another at the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's ; also specimens at
Bolitho's and Pincombc's.

Montagu's Harrier — Circus cineraceus. A specimen shot at Stover, 1809 ;
others at Saltram, I>ew's, and Pincombe's.

Lake.

ORNITHOLOGY OF DARTMOOR. 233

Snowy Owl — Strie iiyctea. One at the Rev. Mr. llore's, shot on Millbrook

Long-eared Owl — Ota* vulgaris. A pair shot at Bncklaud Abbey by Mr.
Wdliaui C.ill, In April, 1846. Specimens at D. B. P.

Short-eared Owl — Otus brachyotet. Saltram, M.

ike — Lfiidus txeMtor. Polwhele : ■.■ae shot at Leigham, 1815, in my
possession ; out* swn at Hani. 1830. Mr. Newton has one, shot near Millatoii.

Pied Flycatcher— Muswvtpa utricapithi. Mount Edgcumbe, Rev. Mr. Hore.

Golden Oriole — Orivlu* gtttbuta. Specimens have been obtained at Oke-
hampton Park, by Mr. Newton, also hy Mr. Julian, at Estover, and at Mount

, i Warbler — Wtraria locnstclla. Hare. A specimen, shot at
. is in my collection ; another in the liev. Mr. Vaugban's ; one also at
-lid Mr. Row's.
Dtrt&rd Warbler — Mtluophitus Dartfordicnsis. Specimens at Drew's and
BetibWa,

Fireercst — Regidus ignicapiUus, A specimen at Pincombe's.

Bearded Titmouse — Cnbiinophibu btarmJau. Specimens at Mr. Tripe's,

aa'a, and tour at the Rev, Mr. Vanghan's.
Bohemian Wwz-wwf—Jlofnin/ciUa garrttla. At Sal tram, Mr. J. B. Howe,
Dl B. M.

Richard"s Lark— Anthiis Rkhardi. Rev. Mr. Hore and Mr. Row.
Hawfinch — Coccothrimslca vulgaris. Mr. Newton, D. B. M.
Siskin — Linaria spinas. Mr. Julian, U. P. In the autumn of 1836, five
canght in a trap, on the lines, at Devonport. One at Saltrain, shot at Langdon.

Parrot Crossbill— f.orm pitynpsittacus. Rare. Mr. Newton shot nine of
them near Millatoii, in 1888.

Nutcracker — S'tiafrmju canim-atni-tta, Montagu, Coinvns, &c.

■ I — Pastor roseus. Two specimens sent lo the British Museum,
from Aveton Gift'ord, by the Rev. Mr. Vaughaii ; another shot there, June, 1834.
Seen also at Saltram.

(mat l.iLn<:k Wood[>cckei* — Firus martins. A specimen is in Mr. Newton's

which was shot near Crediton.
iMiiiter Sotted Woodpecker — Pirns major. Two shot near Modbury,
Lull, 1830 ; another in December, at Mr. Whipple's. One in my pots-
•eeaion, shot st Beer, 1834. Two anil a nest obtained in Ham Woods, 1835.

■ itted WiifHlpecker — Pirn.- minor. Hue iron i nki-hnmpton, at Drew's ;
i:.:ir Kings bridge, l=v Mr. W. lYidcanx, June 1838, in my possession ;

Mr. li-iw, at Antony, 1846.

- Vnu.i- torquilla. < Ino shi >i at Leigham, in my collection ; one,
at Mill&tuu ; another, at Ham. Another caught by a lime twig, on Upson Hill,

Bee-eater — Merops apiastn -. Hue at Leigham, 1818 ; another at Ivy bridge,
1822 ; another at Mr. J. B. Rone's, Plymouth.

Rock Dove, or Cliff Culver — Columlm liria. One from Plymouth Market.
December. 1818, in ray collection, shot near Egg Buckland.

Turtle Dove — Col ba tnrttir. One obtained in Est over Lawn, 182'J. by

Mr. Julian. D. B. M. and Mr. J. B. Rowe.

Red-lcggod Partridge — Pcr/Iic rubra. Mr. Newton shot one of these on
Ilroodbiiry MiK.tr, near BiidcM™, which i. ihot in hi- I'ullceliini.

I Bustard— Otit tarda. Plymouth, 1798 ; Montagu ; and at Hotindale,
near Dartmoor, 1799 ; Rev, S. Rowe.

234 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Little Bustard — Otis tetrax. Two mentioned by Montagu. One shot near
Bigbury, in the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's collection.

Purple Heron — Ardea purpurea. One seen on the Plym, April, 1824 ; ano-
ther, near Fleet, 1836. A specimen shot near Aveton Gilford, was sold at
the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's sale, in March, 1847.

Great White Heron — Ardea alba. Seen by the Rev. Mr. Vaughan on Aveton
GhTord River, in 1805. (See Montagu's Supplement.)

Little Egret — Ardea garzetta. Shot on the Dart, in 1816. Rev. Mr.
Holdsworth. A specimen is. in Mr. Newton's collection, shot near Crediton.

Spoonbill — Platalea leucorodia. A specimen, shot on the Tamar, is in Mr.
C. Tripe's collection ; another, killed on Millbrook Lake, is at Bolitho's. A
Devon specimen was sold at the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's, March, 1847.

Avocet — Recurvirostra avocetta. Mr. Tripe has one from the Tamar ;
Mr. Bolitho, one from the Tavy ; another, from Kingsbridge River, is at
the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's.

Ruff — Machetes pugnax. Mr. Drew has a young bird — a fine male in
summer plumage, shot near Aveton Gilford : sold, at the Rev. Mr. Vaughan's, in
1847.

Brown Snipe — Macroramphus griseus. A specimen at Drew's.

Temminck's Stint — Tringa temmincku. At Bolitho's.

Little Crake — Crex pusiUa. Mr. Newton shot this bird on the borders of
a rivulet, running through the lawn, at Millaton. One at Drew's, caught in the
streets of Devonport.

APPENDIX,

No. V.

WILD QUADRUPEDS, &c. OF THE MOOR.

By Edward Moorb, m.d., f.l.s., late Secretary to the Plymouth Institution.

There is reason to suppose that in former days, when Dartmoor was
retained as a royal Forest, it might have been tenanted by more
noble game than are now to be met with on its surface. The
red deer are now driven to the more northern portions of the county,
about Exmoor, and, I believe, are gradually disappearing altogether,
the annual hunt being only kept up by the zeal of a few sportsmen,
who protect them for this purpose.* The fox, hare, and otter are
now the principal objects of pursuit. Badger-baiting being discon-
tinued in consequence of the existence of a more humane feeling
amone the people.

A collection of the moor quadrupeds was made by Mr. George
Leach, which he presented to the Devon and Cornwall Natural
History Society. Specimens which I have obtained, (chiefly from
Weir, of Trowlsworthy warren,) I have placed in the museum of
the Plymouth Institution.

CHEIROPTERA.

Great Bai—Vespertilio noctula. Common about Ashburton and Haldon. Mr.

T. Abraham.
Common da — Vespertilio pipistrellus. Plymouth Institution.
Long-eared do. — Plecotus auritus. Plymouth Institution.
Great Horse-shoe B&t—Rhinolophus ferrum-eqwnum.

INSECTIVORA.
Hedgehog— Erinaceus Europcew. Plymouth Institution.

* A paragraph in the Plymouth Herald, July 13, 1847, states that the Honourable
Newton Fellowes intended hunting for the season, on the 11th of August, at Brendon
Barton, near Lynmouth, and that deer were plentiful.

286 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Mole — Talpa vulgaris. Plymouth Institution.
Common Shrew — Sorex araneus. Rev. Mr. Hore.
Water Shrew — Sorex fodiens. Plymouth Institution.

CARNIVORA.

Badger — Metes taxus.
Otter*— Ztdra vulgaris.

Common Weazel, or Ferry — Mustela vulgaris. Plymouth Institution.
Stoat, or Ermine — Mustela erminea. Plymouth Institution.
Polecat, or Fitchet — Mustela putorius. Plymouth Institution.
Common Marten — Maries foina. D. and C. Natural History Society.
Pine Marten — Maries abietum. D. and C. Natural History Society.
Fox — Vulpes vulgaris. D. and C. Natural History Society.

RODENTIA.

Squirrel f — Schirus vulgaris. Plymouth Institution.

Dormouse — Myoxus aveUanarius.

Harvest Mouse — Mus messorius.

Long-tailed Field do. — Mus sylvaticus.

Common do. — Mus musculus. • •

Black Rat — Mus ratios.

Brown do. % — Mus decumanus.

Water Vole — Arvicola amphibius.

Field do. — Arvicola agrestis. Rev. Mr. Hore.

Bank do. — Arvicola pratensis. Rev. Mr. Hore.

Common Hare — Lepus timidus.

Rabbit § — Lepus cuniculus.

* The otter is frequently seen on the moor, and sometimes hunted in its vicinity.
It seems to frequent the sea as well as the rivers, since great numbers of them occupy"*
hole at the Devil's Point, near the Royal William Yard, where they may be frequently
seen sporting of an evening.

f Squirrels are found in abundance in woods all round the borders of the moor.

% Varieties often occur on the moor ; I possess one of a yellowish white, another of
a reddish white, both caught in traps at Trowlsworthy warren.

§ These animals are preserved in warrens, at Ditsworthy and Trowlsworthy on the
moor, surrounded by enclosures to prevent them from straying. Traps are set in the
walls, whence most of the wild animals of the preceding list have been obtained.

FISHES OF DARTMOOR.

Most of the streams of Dartmoor are so shallow, so rapid from
the abrupt elevation of the ground, and so exposed to sudden freshets
from heavy rains, as to be not well calculated for the resort of a
large variety of fishes; the principal species are of the family
Salmonidce, and even these, from the depredations committed by
netters and anglers, have but little opportunity of reaching their full
growth, seldom, in the higher grounds, exceeding five or six inches
in length, and rarely acquiring half a pound in weight.* They all
pass under the name of trout, but in truth there are several other
species among them. Mr. Spence, of Mutley, has for some time been
occupied in investigating the progress of the growth of the young
salmon, so as to test the assertion of Mr. Shaw, f that the parr is the
young of the salmon, at one period of its growth ; for this purpose he
has been supplied weekly with fresh fish from the neighbouring
rivers, from February to August, 1847! On examining his collection,
I find that he has obtained fishes, distinctly retaining the characters
of the parr, during the whole of the months of July and August, at
which time it is generally understood that the young salmon of the
previous year have lost those marks, have acquired their silvery coats,
and gone down to the sea as smolts ; at the same time the pinks of
the year are increasing in size, being in August about five inches
long, assuming the smolt dress, while the parrs are mostly eight
inches long, retaining their lateral markings, and instead of being
silvery, are yellowish in colour like the trout, hence it follows that
this is a distinct fish from the salmon ; in this case an opinion opposed
to that of Mr. Shaw, would seem to be a necessary consequence. $

The following fishes are found in the rivers of the moor, chiefly
in the young state.

Order, Malacoperqii Abdominales — Fam. Salmonex^.

The Salmon — Salmo salar. Abundant as salmon-pink, (three inches long,)
and as they become larger, they are found lower down the rivers, (until the

* On one occasion a trout, 2$/o*. weight, was obtained by Mr. J. Pridham, near
Two Bridges ; and another, of nearly Albs., was caught by Mr. Hoarder.

f Bdmgburgh New Philosophical Journal, July, 1836, and January, 1838.

X See Mb. Yarrbll's British Fishes, vol. 2, p. 43, and Treatise on the growth
of Salmon in fresh water.

2 ii

288 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

spring of their second year, says Mr. Shaw,) when changing to salmon-smolt,
they migrate to the sea. I am not aware that any have been obtained on the moor
as salmon-peal, or grilse,* which perhaps from the impediments of weirs, hutches,
and fishermen is scarcely to be expected, but occasionally a full-grown salmon has
been seen.

Bull-trout, or Roundtail — Salmo criox. The young is the whitling of the
Tweed ; it is found in the Plym and Tavy, whence Mr. Spence has obtained
specimens : it is also sometimes termed a Truffe.

Salmon-trout — Salmo trutta. The whitefish of Devonshire, — sea-trout of
Pennant, — found in the Dartmoor rivers. Mr. Spence, however, imagines that
this has been mistaken for the young of the former.

Parr, or Samlet — Salmo salmulus. Termed also brandling, or fingerling ;
skegger, on the Thames ; hepper, on the Dart. Very numerous in the Plym
and Tavy.

Trout — Salmo fario. Also numerous. These fish are sometimes obtained
by tickling ; I have seen half-a-dozen an hour caught by a farmer's boy in this
manner, by wading into the river under shady banks or small bridges.

Order, Malacoptergh afodes — Fam. Muiuenidje.

Sharp-nosed Eel — AnguUla acutirostris. These are found in great plenty,
and are frequently caught by a ground line, baited with worm, in sheltered nooks
during freshets.

The Snig — AnguUla mediorostris. At Mr. Spence's, from the Plym.

Another Eel has been obtained by Mr. Spence, which Mr. Yarrell thinks
to be a distinct species.

Order, Chondropterygii — Fam. PetromyzidjE.

River Lamprey — Petromyzon fluviatilis. Found in the Dartmoor riven,
according to Polwhele.

* Young salmon, if under two pounds weight, are termed salmon-peal, if above that,
grilse. The bull-trout and salmon-trout are often erroneously called salmon-peal.

Mr. Spence has acquired a method of preserving the colours of his fish for a con-
siderable period ; the method pursued is as follows : — As soon as the fish is caught it is put
into a bag or basket of bran, so as to preserve the scales from friction ; this is afterwards
carefully washed off, and the skin of one side, with the head, tail, and fins, is dissected
off the body of the fish, taking care not to separate the true skin from the cuticle ; this
is laid on a dry towel, and in twelve hours is properly arranged. The fish is thus allowed
to dry gradually, and is submitted to gentle pressure slowly increased. About the fourth
day the skin may be removed to a board, the red spots touched over with a little red
ochre, and the black spots on the gill-covers with black varnish. The pressure is still
continued, and when thoroughly dry, the skin may be removed to paper and varnished
over with common or isinglass varnish. In this manner the colours have been preserved,
at present, for two years.

APPENDIX,

HISTORICAL VIEW OF MINING IN DARTMOOR,
AND THE PRECINCTS.

Bi the Author.

Is the course of the foregoing Perambulation, we have been led
to make frequent reference to the mines and tin trade of Britain in
the earliest ages, in connexion with the vestiges of antient stream-
works, still existing in our moorland district. Many particulars of
great interest, are preserved by the Greek writers ; but although
there can be no doubt that mining operations were carried on by the
Romans, subsequently to those which had been successively under-
taken in the times of the Phoenicians and Massilian Greeks, the
information to be gathered from Latin authors on these interesting
subjects is of limited extent and incidental character.

Cicero, (who appears to have been misinformed,) observes that no
silver is produced in Britain. Caesar, as we have already seen, con-
fines himself to a notice of the plumbum album, raised in the interior,
and the iron, which, in small quantities, fexigua copia,) was found
near the coast. Even so late as the time of" the Spanish geographer,
Pomponius Mela, (who wrote about A.D. 45,) it would appear that
little information could then be gleaned, since he indulges a hope
that many more particulars would be obtained concerning the nature
of the country, and its productions, than had yet transpired, f/ualis sit
quaiesqnr pragencmt, mox urtioru et magi* v.rpforata dtccniur. Still,
the reputation of the tin islands was firmly established; and the same
author describes Britain, as abounding in wood and water, and in
its estuaries, producing gems and pearls. Fert netnora, sallusque,
ac prcegrandia fiumina, alternis molilius, modo in pcltigum, modu
retro fiuentia, et qu/t:dani ijanmas, mtirijaritasque i/enerantia* With
regard to the pearls and gems, we have no certain information, but the

„ tte situ Orbis, lib. iii., cup. 3. Ista Dutini, 1711.

240 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

other particulars apply with much exactness to the district contiguous
to Dartmoor, and to the rivers which issue from its heights, and flow
through the tin districts to the sea, such as the Tavy, the Tamar,
and the Plym. Nor can we imagine that so powerful and enter-
prising a nation as the Romans, would have failed to employ their
supremacy in Britain, to the obvious purpose of sharing in that branch
of commerce, for which the Cassiterides had been so long celebrated,
and which had been so eagerly pursued, for so many ages by the
Phoenicians and Greeks in succession. Norden, accordingly, explicitly
affirms that " the Romans also took their turn to searche for this corn-
modi tie, as is supposed by certain of their monies which have been
found in some old workes renewed."* They seem not only to
have engrossed the whole of the tin trade, but to have improved the
mining system, by various inventions and processes, which taught the
Britons to apply to their domestic purposes a metal that had before
been only useful to them as an article of commerce.

Nothing material is recorded of the history of mining opera-
tions in the west, during the Saxon period. The miseries of barbarian
invasion, which afflicted the whole province, after the withdrawal of
the Roman legions, extended to Devonshire. And long after the
eastern parts of south Britain had enjoyed comparative tranquillity,
under the Saxon sovereigns, the braver inhabitants of the west, still
contending for their independence, and resisting the Saxon yoke,
experienced the miseries which must ever attend those countries
which are made the seat of war. This was peculiarly the case with
the south-western parts of Devon ; perpetual battles and skirmishes
took place between the British and the Saxons, who had overrun the
country west of Exeter, but had never conquered it. Nor was it until
the reign of Athclstan, that the Tamar became the acknowledged
boundary between the invaders and the antient possessors of the soil,
although the Danmonian peninsula had been previously divided into
the counties of Devon and Cornwall, and nominally included in the
kingdom of Wessex. Under such circumstances we need not wonder
at the absence of all notice of mining operations or commercial enter-
prise ; as the unsettled state of public affairs would necessarily affect
the peaceful pursuits of trade and commerce in the most prejudicial
manner. To the incursions of the Saxons, succeeded the piratical
forays of the Danish freebooters, who found ready access to the heart of
the country by the navigable rivers, Tamar and Tavy, as when they
destroyed the monastery of Tavistock and the town of Lydford, in
997, and carried fire and sword through the stannary districts of
Devon. These constant alarms must have materially injured the tin
trade, as well as all other branches of commerce ; yet it is thought
that there must have been a large demand for tin, in the sixth and
following centuries, from the general use of bells in churches, which
began to prevail from that period throughout Europe ; and which, it

« Nordbn's Cornwall. Lond. 1728, p. 12.

JllSTOlllcll. \ IBW Of MlMM;. 241

is well known, are cast in a mixed metal, into which tin enters
largely an an indispensable ingredient.

lie firmer rule of the Norman conqueror, mining opera-
tions in the west once more revived. The works appear' to have
l>cen chiefly in the hands of Jews, whose ancestors it is supposed by
Carcw, and other authors, had been thus employed from the time
of the Romans downwards, having been brought hither as cap-
tives after the overthrow of Jerusalem, or else having found their way
ito those remote lands in consequence of the general dispersion
which took pLiee alter that calamitous event. Traces of the outcasts of
srael, thus dispersed to the ends of the earth, under the ban of
Almighty vengeance, are still to be observed in the mining districts of
'ie west, especially in Cornwall. From the Norman conquest to the
;ign of John* the Jews engrossed the tin which was raised, and
hich, according to Borlasc, was inconsiderable in Cornwall, the whole
n farm in that county being only 100 marks, while the tin of Devon
as at the same time farmed for £100. In the reign of Henry III.
ie tin mines were worked by the same people, with increased effect,
)ttt upon the banishment of that oppressed race, by Edward I., mining
affairs became neglected. " Afterwards," says Carew, " certain gentle-
men, being lords of Blackmore, whose grounds were best stored with
his mineral, (tin,) grewc desirous to renew this benefit, and so upon
mite made to Edmond, Earl of Cornwall, sonne to Richard, king of
he Romans, they obtained from him a charter, with sundrie privileges,
amongst which it was granted them to keepe a court, and hold plea of
all actions, (l>'f e > lymme, and land excepted,) in consideration whereof
he said lords accorded to pay the Earle a hallpcuny for every pouud
which should be wrought." This charter applied to the
MM duchy, and therefore included Dartmoor and the Devon mines
i general. It also directed, that certain places should be appointed
(stannary towns, and authorised the holding of stannary parliaments,
t was confirmed, together with that of King John, by the charter of
Edward I., in the thirty-third year of his reign. From this time the
•ecnliar laws and customs relating to the stannaries are chiefly to be
ited ; many of which, are still in force, though not to such an extent
in former times when, with respect to tinners, the stannary courts
.ercised an exclusive jurisdiction, f

From this period also the tinners of Devon and Cornwall, who

ly formed but one body, (meeting on Hingston Hill, near

on, every seventh or eighth year, to concert their common

became divided, and formed distinct bodies of men. J Five

!!■ !i granted n charter tu the tinners of Devon mid Cornwall, (3rd Jolm,
•h October, 1301,) a copy of which, from ihe rolls, in the Record Office. Tower, is
'en in Dr la Heche's Report, (p. til',) and is added iu the cud uf this Appendix,
f They now take COgnixance of all causes, relative to tin mines, and liarc (till

< rriadiction and peculiar privilege*.
* From this time alio, pr<>luhly. the Devonshire stnimators began to hold Iheir st«n-

it Crockem Tor, i

1 of DutmooT,

Mt

PKH AMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

coinage towns for Cornwall were then appointed, and three for Devon,
and each tinner was permitted to sell his own tin, after being duly
assayed at one of the said towns, unless the king insisted on buying
it himself, as stated in the said charter.

The Devonshire stannary towns were Tavistock, Ashburton,
( Asperlon, ) and Chagford, to which Plympton* was added in tin;
reign of Edward III., f and Lydford was exclusively appointed as the
stannary prison. *.

It would appear from a petition to parliament in the first year
of Edward III., a copy of which is also given in De la Beche's Report,
(p. 628,) that the tinners of Devon exercised the privileges thus
granted in a most arbitrary, undue, and oppressive manner, exceeding
alike the bounds of their jurisdiction, and the powers with which they
were vested. They claimed the whole county of Devon as their
" stannary," whereas the petitioners alleged, their permis-sion to dig
for tin " in every place of waste and moor, where they believe tin
can be found within the said county," was confined to the Forest of
Dartmoor only. They complained " that the said tinners do daily
dig and claim to dig, in every species of land, as well in tilled as in
other lands, and destroy houses, meadows, and woods, and divert and
turn the course of waters running as well to mills as elsewhere,
throughout the whole county, to the great destruction and disherison
of the said commonalty." This crying grievance seems not to have
been effectually redressed, for the next half century, as a petition to
the same effect was presented to the king in parliament, (50 Edward III.
1377,) " when it was directed that the customs and usages of the
tinners should be diligently inquired into, and that the warden of the
stannaries should not suffer any of them to dig in the meadows, fell
the woods, and knock down the houses of others out of malice."*]
That such extraordinary privileges appear to have been claimed with
no little pertinacity, appears from Oarew's account, from whom we
learn that though, about the year 1600, the Cornish tinners only
claimed to work without permission of the lord or owner of the land,
upon wastes or in was trail, those of Devon still claimed the right to
digge for tynnc in any man's ground, inclosed or unclosed, without
license, tribute, or satisfaction. ||

Grants for working mines in the county of Devon were made
in the reigns of Edward III., Richard II., Henry IV., and Henry VI.
The mines continued to be protected by the crown, and particularly
by Henry VII. and Edward VI., when they were neglected, and in
the reign of Queen Mary, fell into decay. When Elizabeth suc-
ceeded to the crown, the mines of the kingdom partook of the

• These towns, il will be observed, are nil nihiiled along the verge of the

t In 1328. Lvsosa 1 Devon, p. 12, %, and 408.

J Et si quistnnnatonim prcdicto ram, in aliijiio deliqaerint, jwr i\sv\
henni, per cnatodmn prn'ciielmn nreslpntvir. et in prison* nuslm de Lvdtl'.ii.l. , i
custodianlurctdetineanlur. Hot. Cmiht. 33. Ed w. I.

': 1 u- i i Beche's Rtpert, p. " "

mey oj Coma

i. 13.

HISTORICAL VIKW l»F MINING.

^•ta

ftMteflBg care which this renowned queen extended to every object,
which might enlarge the resources, or contribute to the greatness of
her government. As skilful miners were probably not then to be
found in England, from the interruption which had taken place in
carrying on works of this sort, she invited over Germans to open
mines in different parts of the kingdom.* It is generally believed
that the lead and silver mines, at Beer Ferrers and Combe Martin,
were extensively worked in this reign, although these mines are not
noticed by any contemporary writers on the subject, f

The impulse given by the illustrious Elizabeth to these mining
operations, seems to have reached to the succeeding reigns at least,
since Risdon, who began his Survey in 1605, and completed it in
1630, gives an account of the mining labourers, which leadB to the
conclusion that they must have then formed an extensive class among
the inhabitants of the county. " There are also labourers, that serve
for daily wages, whereof be two sorts ; the one is called a spadiard, J
a daily labourer in tin works, with whom there is no labourer in
hardness of life to be compared, for his apparel is coarse, his diet
slender, his lodging hard, his drink water, and for lack of a cup, he
commonly drinketh out of his spade or shovel, or some such thing,
without curiosity in satisfying nature. His life most commonly is in
pits under the ground, and in great danger, because the earth above
his head is in sundry places crossed over with timber, to keep the
game from falling." §

At the close of the seventeenth century, as stated by the editor
of Risdon, the tin mines of Devon appear to have heen productive.
Webster, who wrote a treatise on metals, in the year 1670, gives
particulars of some situate on the hills above Plyropton, which he
had from one Thomas Creber of that place, " who was one," as he
says, " that had wrought the tin mines, and all his ancestors before

A century after, Chappie, in his Review of Risdon, in alluding
to the above account, writes as if mining in Devon had hardly any
existence. This however must have arisen from want of information
on his part, since although mining has languished at various intervals,
it has never entirely ceased in our district ; or his observations might
refer to stream-works for tin, which have been long declining and are
riot now found in Devon. " The last stream-work," says De la Beche,
" of which we can obtain information, seems to have been that car-
ried on near Plytupton St. Mary's, about the year 1808."

Considerable improvements must have taken place in mining

* ll hu been justly re marked, by tli is writer, that Crown diile, ricnr Tsvisloik, f»
unlike the names of places in that neighbourhood, points ill origin to these German
miners, M it is very like the names of mines in Uarmany.

t Introduction to HuDon's Surrey, edit. 1811.

I Why should not Ibis expressive word be revived for " excavators," instead of the
birbaroui solecism of " navigators," certainly, i

! Risoon's Sxrvty, p. U.
Di u Bsciie's Import, p. 647.

244 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

affairs, between the time to which Chappie refers, and the beginning
of the present century. The Introduction to the modern edition of
Risdon's Survey states the metallic produce of Devon (for a period
of ten years, from 1801 to 1810, inclusive,) to be as follows : —

£ 8. d.

Copper 326,612 3 6£

Tin 30,000

Lead 12,874 1 6

The bulk of this produce was from the immediate vicinity of Dart-
moor, — from the two parishes of Mary Tavy and Tavistock ; the mines
in Mary Tavy having made returns equal to £204,070 19*. llfrf.,
and those of the parish of Tavistock being equal to £129,290 12$. OJrf.*
From this comparative statement, it will be evident that the copper
mines had become by far the most productive at the period in ques-
tion ; but although, from the Report above quoted, it would appear
that copper was raised in Devon early in the last century, it was not
until the commencement of the present, that the copper mines in this
county became important. These, with the tin and lead mines, con-
tinue to be worked to the present time ; but from the same authority
we learn that little lead is now produced, in the western mining
districts, only about 140 tons having been raised in 1835, from the
Devon and Cornish mines together.

The following historical notices are collected from De la Beche's
Report, as an authority on which the fullest reliance may be placed.
" After being smelted, the tin has for more than six centuries paid a tax
to the earls and dukes of Cornwall. Having been cast into blocks,
it was taken to the respective towns already enumerated, — examined by
the duchy officers, — stamped, when found to be of proper quality,
with the duchy seal, — and the dues being paid, the blocks were then
permitted to be sold. In the sixteenth century the coinages, as they
are called, took place only twice a year, about Midsummer and
Michaelmas, but afterwards, became quarterly. According to the
the charter of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, the tin paid a duty of a
halfpenny for every pound weight, when coined. In the reign of
Edward I., the duty was fixed at four shillings for every hundred
weight of coined tin, at which amount it has since continued. The
duchy dues upon the tin coined in Devon, have been long less than
those imposed upon that of Cornwall, having been only at the rate of
Is. 6%d. per cwt. By an act of William IV., (16th August, 1836,) the
duties payable on tne coinage of tin in Devon and Cornwall were
abolished, and a compensation in lieu of them granted to the duchy,
and fixed at 15s. per cwt. for tin, and at 10s. for tin ore.

" In 1213, the duty on tin, payable to the Earl of Cornwall, was
farmed for 200 marks for Cornwall, and £200 for Devon, by which
it is evident that the mines of the latter county were then the more

♦ Introduction to Risdon's Survey, p. 22.

HISTORICAL VIEW OF MINING. 245

valuable. In 1337, the year in which the Black Prince was created
Duke of Cornwall, the profits of the coinage of Devon were
£273 19*. 5frf. In 1471, the quantity of tin raised was 242,624/fo.,
the profits of the duchy in our county being £190 17s. ll^rf., at the rate
of 1*. 6f d. per cwt. In 1479 the amount of the coinage dues was
£166 9*. 5\d. In 1524, 424 tinners of Devon paid, in addition to
the coinage, 8d. per annum for white rent to the duchy. In 1602,
(44, Eliz.,) the tin coinage amounted to £102 17s. 9Jef. The annual
amount of tin raised in both counties, in the reigns of James I. and
Charles I., is given from 1400 to 1600 tons, but the proportion for
Devon, is not specified. In the time of Charles II., the tin revenues
were much reduced, probably owing to the disturbances of the great
rebellion. Accordingly, in more tranquil times, under Queen Anne
and George I., they had again risen to about 1600 tons in the whole
duchy. About 1742, the average produce for several years is re-
ported at about 2100 tons. At the close of the eighteenth and the
beginning of the nineteenth century, the tin revenues of the duchy
are stated at about £9620 per annum ; in 1814, about £8500, and in
1820, about £11,125. From that year, to the abolition of the
coinage in 1838, the average has been commonly estimated at between
£11,000 and £12,000 for the whole duchy."

Any attempt to enter more in detail into the present state of
mining operations, and the metallic products of the Forest and its
precincts, is rendered unnecessary by the comprehensive view of the
Geology of Dartmoor (see Appendix, No. I.) which Dr. E. Moore
has kindly contributed, in addition to his valuable papers on the
Botany and Zoology of the moorland district, and for which
the best acknowledgments of the author, are gladly and gratefully
tendered.

COPY OF THE CHARTER GRANTED BY KING JOHN,

A.D. 1201.

Johannes, Dei gratia, Rex Anglise, &c. Sciatis nos concessive quod omnes stam-
matores nostri in Cornubia et Devonia sint liberi et quieti de placitis nativorum,
dam operantur ad comraodum firm» nostra vel conimodum marcarum novi redditus
nostri qui stammariae sunt nostra dominica. Et quod {xxssint omni tempore libere
et qniete absque alicujus hominis vexatione fodere stammum et turbas ad stam-
mum fandendum ubiquc in moris et feodis Episcoporum et Abbatum comitatuum
sicut solebant et consueverunt et emere buscam ad funturam stamnii sine vasto in
regardis forestarnm et divertcre aquas ad operationem eorum in stammariis sicut
de antiqua consuetudine eonsueverunt. Et quod non rccedant ab operationibus
suia pro alicujus summonitione nisi per summon itionem capitalis custodis stam-
mariarum vel baillirorum ejus. Concessimus etiam quod capitalis custos stamma-

«v 1

246 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

riarum et bailivi ejus per earn habent super prsedictos stammatores plenariam
potestatem ad eos justificandos et ad rectum producendos et quod ab eis in carceribus
nostris recipiantur si contigerit quod aliquis praedictorum stammatorum debeat
capi vel incarcerari pro aliquo retto. Et si contigerit quod aliquis eorum merit
fugitivus vel udlugatus quod catalla eorum nobis reddantur per manum custodis
stammariarum nostrarum, quia stammatores firmarii nostri sunt et semper in debito
nostro. Praeterea concessimus thcsaurariis et ponderatoribus nostris nt suit fide-
liores et intentiores ad utilitatem nostram in receptione et custodia thesauri nostri
per villas marcandas quod sint quieti in villis ubi manent de auxiliis et taillagiis
dum fuerint in servitio nostra thesaurarii et ponderatores nostri quia nihil habent
aliud vel habere possunt per annum pro praedicto servitio nostro. Testibus
Wilielmo Comite Sarresburiae, Petro de Stokes, Warino filio Geroldi. Data per
manum S. Wellensis Archidiaconi apud Bonam Villam Super Tokam vicesimo
nono die Octobris anno regni nostri tertio.

APPENDIX,

No. VII.

DARTMOOR PRISON OF WAR.

By the Author.

Few circumstances having had greater influence upon the present
condition of the moor than the formation, about forty years since, of
an extensive depot for prisoners of war, in the centre of the Western
Quarter, a sketch of that important national establishment, unique in
its character, and remarkable for its situation, may be fitly appended
in this place.

When the first decisive check had been given by the illustrious
Nelson, at Trafalgar, to the whirlwind career and gigantic designs of
Napoleon, — when, under the righteous retribution of the Almighty,
France was to experience, in her turn, the reverses of defeat, and
the miseries of war, which she had so long inflicted upon other
countries, — when the tide of victory gradually rolled back, and
England numbered the captives of her prowess by thousands, — it
became necessary to provide ampler accommodation for the unfor-
tunate exiles, than could be afforded in the crowded and unhealthy
buildings or prison-ships, appropriated for that purpose at Plymouth.
The late Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, who held the office of Lord Warden
of the Stannaries, under the Prince of Wales, (George IV.,) and who
had already distinguished himself as one of the earliest and most
successful cultivators of Dartmoor, by his improvements at Tor Royal,
suggested the erection of the necessary buildings, at a spot about a
mile from the scene of his own agricultural enterprise. Surveys were
accordingly made by order of government, and the result of the
investigation entered into was so favourable, that the spot recom-
mended was decided upon, as the site of a war-prison establishment,
on a scale suited to the exigencies of the case, and worthy of the
humanity and renown of Great Britain.

The ground required for the site was liberally granted by the
Prince, as Duke of Cornwall, and Lord of the Forest of Dartmoor.
The foundation-stone was laid by the Lord Warden, on the 20th of
March, 1806, and the buildings were speedily raised after the design,

248 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

and under the superintendence of, Mr. D. Alexander, architect.
The following details are selected from the compendious account given
by the late Mr. Burt, in his notes to Carrington's Dartmoor, and from
a statement published about the time of the erection of the prison,
in the new edition of Risdon's Survey of Devon, personal obser-
vation, and other sources.

" Granite taken from the moor," says Mr. Burt, " is the prin-
cipal material ; and the whole, including some later additions, cost
about £127,000. Two of the prisons, a row of houses for subordinate
officers, the walls of the chapel, and the parsonage-house, were
erected by the French, and the interior of tie chapel fitted up by
American prisoners, who received a daily gratuity for their trouble ;
government, with a sympathy for these unhappy victims of ruthless
war, which deserves the highest praise, kindly permitting them by
this, and other modes of employment, both in and out of the walls,
to alleviate the tedium of their captivity, and increase their private
comforts."*

The author of the Additions to Risdon, published in 1811, gives
the following compendious description of Dartmoor Prison, which
had then been lately completed. It is probably the finest thing of its
kind. " An outer- wall encloses a circle of about thirty acres ; within
this is another wall, which encloses the area in which the prisons
stand. This area is a smaller circle with the segment cut off. The
prisons are five rectangular buildings, each capable of containing
more than fifteen hundred men ;f they have each two floors, where is
arranged a double tier of hammocks, slung on cast-iron pillars ; and
a third floor in the roof, which is used as a promenade in wet weather.
There are, besides, two other spacious buildings ; one, which is a
large hospital, and the other is appropriated to the petty officers, who
are judiciously separated from the men. In the area, likewise, are
sheds, or open buildings, for recreation in bad weather. The space
between the walls forms a fine military road J round the whole, where
the guard parades, and the centinels being posted on platforms over-
looking the inner-wall, have a complete command of the prison with-
out intermixing with the prisoners. The segment, cut off from the
inner circle, contains the governor's house, and the other buildings
necessary for the civil establishment ; and into this part of the ground
the country people are admitted, who resort to a daily market with
vegetables, and such other things, as the prisoners purchase, to add to
the fare that is provided for them, and which they buy at lower rates,
than they can generally be procured for, at the market towns. The
barracks for the troops form a detached building, and are distant from
the prison, above a quarter of a mile. The number of prisoners that
have been lodged here, has been from five to seven thousand, § and

* Carhington's Dartmoor, p. 140.

t Considerably more. See note below.

X Nearly a mile in length.

§ Subsequently as many as 9,600 were congregated within the walls at one time.

DARTMOOR PRISON OF WAR. 249

the troops employed to guard them not more than from three to five
hundred." •

The great gateway on the western side is arched over with
immense blocks of granite, bearing the appropriate inscription, in
Roman capitals,

PARCERE SUBJECTIS.

Immediately opposite is the ample reservoir, from whence the whole
establishment was served with copious supplies of purest water.
Indeed the abundance and purity of this most essential article of
daily life, was one of the causes which influenced the decision of
government in selecting the spot, which was incontrovertibly proved
to be remarkably healthy, notwithstanding the acknowledged severity
of the climate. . I am enabled to make this statement on high pro-
fessional authority, that of Sir George Magrath, of Plymouth, M.D.,
the talented and skilful physician who presided over the medical
department from 1814 until the close of the war.f From official returns,
it appeared that the mortality among the prisoners was less in propor-
tion, than in any town in England with an equal population.

A substantial chapel with a steeple, which forms a conspicuous
object amidst the surrounding waste, was built for the accommodation
of the officers of the depot, the troops, and the inhabitants of the busy
little town, which had rapidly sprung up in the immediate neighbour-
hood of the prison establishment, under the name of Prince Town,
in honour of the royal lord of the soil. " Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt,"
remarks Mr. Burt, " with his wonted regard for the welfare of Dart-
moor, procured the privileges of holding a market and a fair. The
chapel and parsonage-house lie a little way apart from the front of the
prison. The former is sixty feet long by forty wide, and was first
opened, in 1815, for divine service, which is continued ; the parish
church of Lydford being twelve or thirteen miles distant, though
burials and christenings must still be performed there. It is capable
of accommodating five hundred persons."

But the bustle and activity of this busy mart, in the midst of the
desert, were brought to an early, and, in the opinion of many, to an
unexpected close. War had continued so long, that many feared, and
some hoped, that it would still be prolonged, even after the duration
of a quarter of a century. But the period had arrived when the
nations of the world were to be taught the instructive lesson, that the
mightiest conqueror is but an instrument in the hand of the King of
kings. And thus the subjugator of a continent, for whose ambitious
schemes Europe was too narrow, was hurled from that portentous
throne, which he had reared on the ruins of vanquished nations and

• R.18DOV* a Survey, Additions, 1811, p. 410.

f 1 am indebted to thin gentleman for some valuable observations on this important
subject, which will be found at the close of this Appendix.

250 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

cemented with torrents of blood, and cast aside, when his work was
done, like " a despised broken idol." When England, in the strength
of a righteous cause, had chained the disturber of Europe, peace, at
length, once more returned to bless the harassed and exhausted nations.
The French, and subsequently the American prisoners, were restored
to their native lands ; the troops, stationed at the prison to guard them,
were, removed, and the vast establishment gradually broken up. As
an unavoidable consequence, Prince Town soon presented the forlorn
spectacle of grass-grown highways and ruinous habitations ; shops and
houses were shut up ; the once busy mill, on Blackabrook, was still and
silent, the moorland stream ran freely and uninterrupted in its antient
channel ; while the prison itself, in the desolate stillness of its spacious
courts and apartments, afforded a striking contrast to the ceaseless
hum of the multitudinous human swarm previously hived together
within the walls. Carrington alludes to the change with his usual
felicity.

Silent now,—
How silent, that proud pile, where England held
Within her victor gripe the vanquished foe ;
here, fall many a blooming cheek was blench'd ;
here, fall many a gallant heart was qnell'd
By stern captivity ; protracted, till
Hope almost ceas'd to bless the drooping brave.

Hope, though long deferred, came at last to incarcerated thou-
sands, with joyful realization. More than thirty years have glided
away, since liberty was here proclaimed to the captives, from the
various countries, who had been compelled to drain their population
to recruit the armies of Napoleon. Long may it be, ere Dartmoor
Prison shall again be required for the sad purpose for which it was
originally erected ! Various projects have been, from time to time,
suggested for the useful occupation of these spacious and commodious
premises, such as a depot for convicts — a penitentiary — a school of
industry and asylum for destitute children, rescued from the streets
of the metropolis — a peat gas manufactory, &c, all which have been
abandoned in succession. The scheme of locating convicts at Prince
Town has lately been revived and the project for subjecting the peat,
with which the immediate neighbourhood abounds, to chemical pro-
cesses for the production of naphtha, and other substances, has been
carried on for some time, with results which promise to remunerate
the enterprising proprietors of the works, established at Prince Town.
And however un picturesque the array of peat-stacks, which meet the
eye on every side, may appear, how gratifying the reflection that if
some portion of the former activity of Prince Town has been revived,
it is due to the arts of peace, and unconnected with those heart-rend-
ing miseries which war must always bring in its train.

The sentiments of the late Felicia Hemans, in her Prize Poem on
Dartmoor, are so germane to the subject, and embodied in such

DARTMOOR PRISON OP WAR.

harmonious and pleasing strains, that they will form an appropriate
appendage to our notice of the disused War Prison of England.

It is a glorious hour, when spring goes forth
O'er the bleak mountain* of tin' shadowy north.
Ami with mm radian! ulatiee, one magic breath.
Wake* all things lovely from the sleep of death ;
While the glad voices of a thousand streams
Bursting their bondage, triiiDi|ih in her beams.
But peace halb imlil.-r change* '. (At the mind
The warm and living spirit of mankind
Her influence breath.-s, and bid; the. blighted heart
To lit'.- and lin|ir. hum di—.pfiliipi], start !
She with a look dissolves the captive's eluvin,
Peopling with beauty, wiilowM hmnes again.
Around the mother in her closing years
Gathering her sons once mure, and from the Wars
Of th( dini post, but winning purer light
To nwk« the present mine seronelv bright.

The testimony of a medical officer, of known reputation, as to the
sanitary condition of a large national establishment, in this particular
situation, is so important in an historical, scientific, and philanthropic
point of view, that I gladly avail myself of his obliging permission to
insert in this place, a communication, with which lie has kindly
favoured me.

ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF DARTMOOR.

Bt Sir George MAonATn, m,d., f,k.s., f.l.s., m. im.a., &c.

From personal correspondence with other establishments, similar
lo Dartmoor, I presume the statistical records of that great tomb of the
living, (embosomed as it is, in a desert and desolate waste, of wild,
and in the winter time, terrible scenery, exhibiting the sublimity and
grandeur occasionally of elemental strife, but never partaking of the
beautiful of nature,* its chmate too, cheerless and hyperborean,} with

• The gtntltr beauties of nature are certainly not lo be sought for in the neighbour-
hood, and the eifccls of the wild scenery on the unhappy cspUYes, hag been feelingly
and faithfully noted by (he mnurltmd niuae.

O '. who that drags

A captive's chain, would feel his soul refresh'd.

Though scenes like those of Eden should arise

Around his hated cage ! But here green youth

Lost all its freshness, manhood all its prime.

And age sank to the tomb, ere peace her trump

Exulting blew; and still upon the eye

In dread monolouy, at morn, noon, ere.

Arose the moor — the moor I Cans wot on.

252 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

all its disadvantages, will show, that the health of its incarcerated
tenants, in a general way, equalled, if not surpassed, any war prison in
England or Scotland. This might be considered an anomaly in san-
itary history, when we reflect how ungenially it might be supposed to
act on southern constitutions, for it was not unusual in the months of
December and January for the thermometer to stand at from thirty-
three to thirty-five degrees below freezing, indicating cold, almost too
intense to support animal life ; but the density of the congregated
numbers in the prison, created an artificial climate, which counter-
acted the torpifying effect of the Russian climate without. Like most
climates of extreme heat or cold, the new comers required a seasoning,
to assimilate their constitution to its peculiarities, in the progress of
which, indispositions, incidental to low temperature, assailed them ; and
it was an every-day occurrence among the reprobate and incorrigible
classes of the prisoners, who gambled away their clothing and rations,
for individuals to be brought up to the receiving room, in a state of
suspended animation, from which they were usually resuscitated, by
the process resorted to in like circumstances in frigid regions. I
believe one death only took place during my sojourn at Dartmoor,
from torpor induced by cold, and the profligate part of the French
were the only sufferers. As soon as the system became acclimated to
the region in which they lived, health was seldom disturbed.

During my service there, malignant measles and small pox were
imported from other contaminated sources. These diseases attained
to great virulence among the Americans, chiefly arising from habits of
indulgence, from the ample pecuniary resources they possessed, and
the facilities of obtaining spirits, and sumptuous articles of diet, from
the market people, which no vigilance on the part of the authorities
could suppress or obviate. The latter disease degenerated into an
exasperated species of peripneumonia, accompanied by low typhoid
symptoms, which became very unmanageable and destructive. Inde-
pendently of these contagious epidemics, (for they became so,) the
depot may be said to have been surprisingly healthy.

I possess no register of the condition of health or disease obtain-
ing in other war prisons, so as to enable me to draw an accurate
parallel, but Dartmoor was generally considered equal, if not superior,
to any depot where the same numbers of men were confined in so
narrow a compass ; but it must be borne in mind, that after the closing
of Mill-Bay Prison, Dartmoor received men from the colonies, long
shut up in transports, and often landed with the seeds of infection
generated among them, and predisposed, by privations and a vitiated
atmosphere, to disease, while none were sent to the prisons in the
interior, but men selected on purpose, in perfect health. The capacity
of accommodation at Dartmoor was on a very extensive scale, and far
beyond any other prison; a greater number of men was conse-
quently congregated there, than elsewhere, which proportionately
diminished its means of health, as it was calculated to contain 9000.
Nor should it be forgotten that a state of confinement invokes moral

DVRTMOOR PltlSON OF WAR. 25$

and physical impressions deleterious to mental as well as bodily health.

The foregoing observations refer particularly to the period when
the depot was under the medical superintendence of Sir George
Magrath, viz., from his appointment to that important office, in 1814,
to the close of the establishment, in 1816, during which time the
diseases of the American prisoners, above specified, came under his
professional notice and care. Were it compatible with the plan of
this work, the subject might be further elucidated, by reference to a
testimonial, presented to him by the prisoners, and transmitted to the
President of the United States, demonstrative of their regard, and
expressive of the high sense they entertained of his humane exertions
and well-directed skill, in alleviating, as far as possible, the sufferings
and maladies to which they were exposed in their place of durance.
Circumstances more favourable for testing the comparative healthi-
ness of the climate of Dartmoor (however inclement, in winter) can
hardly be predicated ; and if any of the numerous plans for locating
large numbers of persons in the prison buildings,* should ever be
realized, the results of experience, recorded by a competent observer,
may become of great practical importance.

It may however be remarked that independently of the state
of foreign prisoners, sufficient and most satisfactory proofs of the
healthiness of the general climate of the moor, as well as of this
particular spot, may be adduced without difficulty. Situated at about
mrteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, and exposed to the
bleakest winds, Prince Town must necessarily (as has been shown
above) often experience great severity of weather ; and accordingly
there arc very few days in the year when the cheerful peat lire on
the hearth, so characteristic of the district, would not form a most
agreeable adjunct to domestic comfort. But the free mountain air,
an abundant supply of water of the purest quality, and every facility
for the most perfect drainage, wouhl more than counterbalance (for
many purposes) the coldness of the situation. Epidemic diseases are
by no means so common in the moorlands as in less elevated tracts,
and the inhabitants generally, arc remarkable for vigour of consti-
tution, a green old age, and length of life; and many of the most
eminent medical practitioners of Plymouth and other neighbouring
towns liave, in some particular cases, sent their patients lor change

e purlieu la r

• One of those projects, alluded to in a former page, may dog
notice, as having received the patronage, uf royalty, mid excited considerable i
ll the time. It wu proposed l" collect a larsjw mimhei of orphan children from ihe
■treeUof the metropolis and to place Ilium M I'rinco Town under a system of religious,
moral, and industrial training, which it was confidently hoped, would lend to reclaim
them from liabiii of vice and immorality, and tender tlicm mefnl members if society.
Al » public meeting, held in London, in ItCJU. it was announced that hi* majesty
lieorge I V. had headed Ihe subscription for tht? accomplishment of these objects, by n
princely donation ol £1000, and had further offered to lirant part of the tieiphhunnnB
moor for the same benevolent purpose. Itui unexpected diffionltiei intervened, and ihe
resolutions of the meeting were never carried into effect.
8 K

854 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

of air to the moor, with great success. The tourist coming from the
more genial clime of the lowlands into the bleak and cloudy regions
" of the mountain and the flood," might be inclined to commiserate
the hardy countryman whose life is spent amidst the snows and mists,
the rocks and wastes of Dartmoor, but he, like other mountaineers,
is little disposed to exchange the home of his youth, and the freedom
of the moor, for more circumscribed, though sunnier, spots; and
from habit and early association, is enabled to find subsistence and
comfort, where a passing observer might imagine nothing but poverty,
hardship, and wretchedness.

Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms,
And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms ;
And as a child, when scaring sounds molest,
Clings close and closer to the mother's breast,
So the loud torrent, and the whirlwind's roar,
But bind him to his native mountains more.

Goldsmith.

APPENDIX OF HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.

TJie documents, which form the present appendix, have been
supplied to me by the kindness of my friend, Mr. Pitman Jones, of
Exeter, and have been submitted to a gentleman of ettnbfishal m/li-
auarian reputation, well acquainted with the Duchy of Cornwall, who
hat obligingly selected and prefaced them with the following valuable
and interesting observations.

No where are the vestiges of Norman rule more
distinctly traceable than in the county and confines of
Devonshire. Exeter attempted to maintain against the
Conqueror the same independent character which she
had asserted against the Saxon sovereign," and the sul- , n . " Angluetegi,
len obedience of that antient metropolis and the sur- "^ m ,r " jjjjjjjljj
rounding territory required to be insured by at least ten •obregeBdwudc,
castles, of a date not long subsequent to the Conquest. «lii"quu rrk.riijus
The rivers, which opened an access to the interior of the o^Enu'"' Vit
county, were guarded by the fortresses of Exeter, Tot- Lib, i*., tap. -i.
ness, Plympton, Trematon, and Barnstaple; while the
inland passes and vulnerable points were secured by the
castles of Launceston, Okchnmpton, Tiverton, Berry,
and Lidford. To the same, or a not much later period,
we may perhaps assign castles of which few traces can
now be found ; namely, those of Braduinch, Torrington,
Bampton, Winkleigh, and Gidleigh. The Domesday
Survey is silent as to any of these castles, except Oke-
hampton and Trematon ; yet we know, from unexcep-
tionable historical evidence, that one at least of the
others was erected immediately after the capture of
Exeter ; b and their surviving ruins carry intrinsic evi- b •• Locum in-
dence of the early date of some of the rest. If *. ■'J™ ***

Lidford is named in Domesday, yet it is clear that ^"m" cJtHl.'m
nothing but the borough is there noticed. The royal jd.-pi" I Hex
castle and manor, with the forest which has been immc- Willelmui.j Ojd.
mortally appendant to them, arc no where to be found
in that record; nor is this at all surprising. Until the
property was granted to a subject in a subsequent reign.

PBRAMMJI.AT10N OF DARTMOOR.

I li™ |i;
tTaidi-obe A

it, was id the King's hands, and can have been liable to
pay none of those taxes, which, under 1 1 1 ■
hidage, carrucage, &c, were chiefly in view when
the survey was made. A tract of land, like Dartmoor,
was, under no circumstances, likely to find its way
into the enumeration of lands in Domesday, for it is
very evident that the land intended to be included
in it, and to which alone the description of hides and
carrucatet can strictly apply, was land under tillage, or
some other form of profitable management, yielding an
annual revenue to its owner, and therefore the fit subject
of a land-tax. For the same reason the silence of the
survey as to tin mines, or their produce, both in Devon
and Cornwall, cannot be relied upon as the slightest
evidence that they had ceased to be worked. Public
records of undoubted authority show that those mines

. were in full activity in the twelfth century. 6

c " It is probable, from the first document in this Ap-

pendix, that the Forest was occasionally under grant to
members of the royal family during the twelfth century,
but the first distinct notice of any transfer of the castle,
manor, and forest by the crown to a subject, is the grant

'■■• by Henry III. d to his brother Richard, the Earl of
' Cornwall, commonly called King of the Romans or of
Germany. From that date, the property has been from
time to time under grant from the crown; and, since
A.D. 1337, has been permanently annexed to the Duchy
of Cornwall.

It has been justly observed that the technical mean-
ing of the term Forest does not necessarily imply that
there should be more timber or herbage tli..
sufficient to supply food and shelter for the wild ani-
mals that range over it. It is indeed possible that there
formerly existed more wood on Dartmoor than is now
to be found, and that the tinners, who certainly were
allowed to supply themselves with fuel for the fusion
of the ore, have laid waste the surface ; but it is more
probable that the granitic table-land of the Forest was
never covered with anything entitled to the name of
timber, and that it was reserved as a mere hunting
ground. Nor is it to be assumed that diversion was
the main object of these appropriations of land. It is
very certain that our ancestors (excluding, of course,
those who were obliged to be satisfied with humbler
fare,) relied upon their deer-parks, chases, and warn-ns
for the supply of their larders ; and that cured

* d was an important article of food in royal households. *

int parts of i!t« tuuniry la (tic king's iiirdcr. Prefalai

«nls, 2& Ed. I., td. 1787.

CONTENTS OF HISTORICAL 1HH/1 WIENTS,

257

Yc-t we know (hat the princely owners of Dart-
moor have always provided for the contingency of their
Eersonal presence in the field. Lyme tone manor was
eld by the tenure of furnishing two arrows, and an
oaten loaf, to the Lord of Lidford, when lie came to
hunt on Dartmoor. The Lord of Kingdon, Shircdon,
and Hockneton, was bound to present three arrows on
the like occasion, and the Lord of Druscombe held his
land by the sergeanty of bearing a bow and three
arrows to the King's use when lie hunted on Dartmoor.
These tenures arc set forth in the Hundred Rolls, and
the record of the Knights' Fees in the Exchequer ;/ / ' Uundrrd.
from which we also learn that if the Lord of Dartmoor S" Si £r«* pp '

, , , , , . .... ob, 81, 85, 86.

should pursue the chase over t!ic neighbouring waste Tata dc Nnil, p.
of Exmoor, there are lands at Uraunton that are bound IW.
to drag the Taw or the Torridge to supply the table
of the Prince with one of the best salmon that can be
found there. Nor is this all : if the Prince should avail
himself of the hunting season at Dartmoor to visit his
antient castle of Launceston, the lord of the manor
of Carbillia will infallibly subject his land to the peril
of forfeiture, unless he stations himself at Poulston
bridge, ready to receive His royal highness and to pre-
sent to him " unam capam griseam," or " de grisauco,'V — g Bujukt's
a service the more perilous, inasmuch as he will have e £™{$ J^ £'.,'.
to consult the Society of Antiquaries, from whom he boss's Conwatf,
will probably only learn that the "capa grisca" may P- 246.
mean either a grey mantle or a fur cape, and that the
word " grisauco" is not to be found in the glossaries

at all. * , * Tie minor U

lipLleTcdlobcnow

tlio properly of n
Let us now turn to the documents in the follow- lady, "ho wm tr-
ine Appendix, and shortly notice their contents. limed from tHi
° ,rV *.. .i f ,- F .fii-. i embarrassing clu-
ihe conversion of large tracts of land into royally on i nc occn-
M the subject of frequent complaint against the aion of the re-
early Norman princes, and some relief appears to have f c1 " r " >111 , ,'"

i ■ J • a l . r tlt t a n ii/ii her county; (or the

been promised in the charters of Henry 1., A.D. 1101, DukeofCnniui.il
mid of Stephen A.D. 1136. cu> only win the

The Great Charter of John, promulgated A.D. Pj" uc0 ." s , l, '! r kk
,„,_ . . i- if Yi r i- by crossing the Ta.

IHlo, contained a promise to disafforest all forests ol „;. ir al [■„"ui s tuii.
recent erection, and in that year writs were accordingly
issued to the officers of the forest with a view to
ascertain and redress the grievances alluded to in this
Charter. ' There was however no forest charter, dis- ' So1 - **<■<■
tinct from the Great Charter of liberties, until the ,7 • ,u, " ,
following reign.

In the second year of Henry III., A.D. 1217, we
have the first authentic evidence of the promulgation of

£58 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

a distinct charter on the subject of the royal forests.
The writ is still extant which directs the sheriffs of
the different counties of England to summon the knights,
who were to choose twelve others to perambulate be-

k Rot. Pat., tween the old and new forest lands ; * and the charter
2 Hen. III. itself which had escaped the search of Sir W. Blackstone,

I It U prefixed was found in Durham cathedral in 1806. l

*» l , h K c *?"* ilion In the ninth year of the same king another charter

of the .utute,. rf ^ For ^ ^/^^^ varyin £ om the last, was

published, a copy of which is usually prefixed to the
common editions of the statutes at large. One of the
most important provisions of this charter was to dis-
afforest lands which had been converted into forests by
Henry II., Richard I., and John.

This charter was followed by general perambu-
lations, made in all the forest counties, under royal
m See Black- commissions or writs,* 1 which were repeated in this

ti£*tofh* r G U * ^ ^ le f°Nowing reigns.

Charter, pp. 78, The first document in the Appendix is a charter

107, (8?o. edit.) of John Earl of Morton (i.e. Mortain, in Normandy)

who was Earl of Cornwall during the life of his brother
Richard I. and afterwards became king. It professes
to grant certain immunities to free tenants, out of the
Regard of the forest, which were in fact little more than
mere declarations of their common law righto.

The second document contains a copy of a charter
by the same person when king. It disafforests all lands
in Devonshire except the antient Regards of the forests
of Dartmoor and Exmoor, and bears date the 18th May,
anno regni 5, (A.D. 1203 or 1204,) eleven or twelve
n There were years before the date of Magna Charta. »

MaVin^Tjohi^ The tl P* d docum ?nt is an instruction or mandate

to the bailiffs of Lidford, probably the governing
officers of the borough, to permit the king's tinners, (as
indeed at this time all the tinners in Devon and Corn-
wall were called,) to take coal, that is, peat, from
Dartmoor for the use of the stannary; no doubt for the
fusion of the ore.

Document No. iv. is a grant by Henry III. to the
chaplain of Lidford of the tithe of the herbage of
Dartmoor. Tithe is not due of common right from
royal forests ; hence the necessity of this special con-
cession by which the tithe of agistment was assigned
to the church of Lidford.

No. v. is a writ (A.D. 1240) from King Henry HI.
directing the sheriff of Devon to summon a jury of
twelve Knights to determine by perambulation the
boundary of the Forest of Dartmoor. The official

CONTENTS OF HISTORICAL UiXlMKMs

.'■'

return to this writ has not been found, but there are
several copies extant of various dates, none of which
exactly agree.

A copy of one of these forms the sixth of the
following documents.

It will be observed that where the word lineal! ter
is used in the perambulation the boundary is not
necessarily represented by a straight line, although
that construction may possibly be put upon the word.
Nor should it be overlooked that, according to the
forest law, the object which forms the boundary, if it
be a road, river, &c, is wholly iucluded within the
franchise of the forest. ° ° See i, Cott

Document No. vii. is an interesting ecclesiastical ' p "
instrument by which the Bishop of Exeter, A.D. 1260,
transferred the villages of Balbeny and Pushy 11 to the
parish of Widdecombe from Lidford for the conve-
nience of the inhabitants of them. The transfer is only
partial. For some purposes they were to remain parcel
of the mother parish of Lidford. The arrangement is
believed to be still in force.

The extract, No. viii. sufficiently explains itself.
The original is in Latin, and is much more voluminous.
It is an account rendered in 1297 to the Earl of Corn-
wall, to whose father the castle, manor, borough and
forest had been granted; and the items arc arranged
under the heads of Lidford, (i. e. the borough) and its
fee-farm rent ; the Manor, including the profits arising
from the mill, fairs, toll-tin, stray cattle, &c. ; and the
Forest, the profits of which arose at that time from a
water-mill, — from mortgable, (probably acknowledg-
ments paid for the use of dead wood, found on the
moor) — the fines of vills, now called the Venville rents,
— pasturage and folding of cattle, — payments made by
peat diggers, — agistment of the cattle of outlying
tenants, — rents paid by the censers, and the pannage,
or feed of pigs. Some of these sources of revenue
would seem to indicate the existence of more timber
than is now to be seen within the present supjwsed
limits of the forest. The Lidford and Dartmoor courts
were probably held, as now, together ; and the long list
of fines on various law proceedings shows an amount of
litigation to which the pacific inhabitants of the moor
have happily long been strangers ; though the recent
establishment of itinerant county judges may perhaps
revive the taste for it. The reader may recognise
among the names of litigants or offenders some that are
still familiar in the neighbourhood.

860

PERAMBULATION OF I1ARTMOOK,

It will be observed that neither this nor any o
Dartmoor Account notices the profit accruing to the
Earl or the Duchy from the stannaries. The dues paid
by tinners working in the demesne land, whether manor
or forest, and called toll-tin, are mentioned ; but the far
larger revenue, arising from coinage and pre-emption
of tin, is not included. There can be no reasonable
doubt that the Stannaries of Devon were more produc-
tive than those of Cornwall in the twelfth century ; for
the fixed sum paid to the bishops of Exeter, tor the
last seven centuries and a half, as the tithe of the Royal-
ty, or farm of tin, is greater for Devon than for Cornwall.
In Devon, too, as in Cornwall, four courts have immp-
morially settled all ordinary suits and quarrels in which
tinners arc parties ; and the records of their proct
ings, still extant in great abundance from the reigr
Edward III., bear witness to an enormous amoun
petty litigation, which, for some centuries, yielded ti
Crown, the Prince, or their officers, an income b^
means contemptible. The scene of these mining opera-
tions was the moor and its confines ; for although the
warden and stewards of the stannaries claimed I "
Devon as stannary- ground, and Exeter itself
not secure the defendant from an involuntary v'
Lidford Castle under the escort of a tin bailiff, :
certain as any geological fact can be, that Dartmoor
alone has hitherto been the centre and source of all the
tin stream-works in the county. The authentic annals
of the tin revenues must be sought for, not in the Dart-
moor rentals, but in the coinage rolls; a series quite
distinct from the rentals or bailiiPs accounts of Lidford
or Dartmoor Forest.

The charter No. ix. contains a grant by the king,
in 1466, to the tinners of Cornwall, of the liberty of
taking peat on Dartmoor for melting their tin. l"hc
recital shows that at this date the timber or fuel in
Cornwall had been so much destroyed, that there no
longer existed in that county sufficient materials fur
supplying the furnaces of the blowing houses.

Article No. x. is a copious analysis of an account
rendered by the reeves and foresters of Lidford and
Dartmoor in the reign of Henry VII. In thu docu-
ment all the heads in the former account, ■Imci]
referred to, are repeated with greater detail and men
instructive particularity. The old division of the
forest into four quarters, or bailiwicks, is here distinct!)
apparent

This article is followed by some extracts, No.

i which
roceed-
eign of
junt of
i jo the
> by no
opera-
jgh the
imed all

m

)artiuoor

oomnn w kistokicai docuhekts,

from court roils, relating to tin:' fV>rest. Tiny appear io
be selected from the rolls of the leet or law court of
the forest, &c, and chiefly concern offences committed
by encroaching on the forest or venville commons,
neglecting to repair fences, and other delinquencies.

No. xii. is a presentment or finding by a jury
summoned in 1609 to inquire respecting the bounda-
ries of the forest, and other matters relating to Dartmoor.
The open commons in the parishes and places adjoining
the forest are here called " the Commons of Devonshire."
It is believed that they are not now familiarly known by
thai name, though it was certainly long in use, both
before and since this presentment.

No. xiii. is a survey, or part of a survey, of the
caitle ;in<l borough of Lidford, (but not of the manor
or forest), made by direction of the Commonwealth
Parliament under the act or ordinance passed for the
sale of lands belonging to the royal family. It is appa-
rent that the castie was at this time in a state little less
ruinous than its present condition. In the reign of
Edward III. the Commons complained that tinners
confined then- for debt were so well entertained, that
they never troubled themselves to pay their creditors.?
Latterly, the castle lost its character as a place of plea-
sant retirement for insolvent debtors, and was pro-
nounced one of " the most hanious, contagious, and
detestable places in the kingdom." 9

No. xiv., a terrier of Lidford parish follows.

No. xv. The last document in the series is one
of considerable interest, which has never hitherto been
published. The earliest printed statutes of the Stan-
. iruonts are of the reign of Henry VIII., and
were amongst the first productions of the press of this
country, having been printed at Tavistock, within the
if the abbey, in the year 1-510. The statutes,
or ordinances in the appendix were passed at a
CrockernTor convocation, or parliament of tinners, in
I 194, assembled by authority of Prince Arthur,
then Duke of Cornwall, held in the presence of his
officers and subsequently ratified by him. Each of the
stannary towns, Chagford, Ashburton, Tavistock and
Plymptuii, '■out twenty-four tinners to represent the
general body of Devonshire stannators and to consult
for the common interest and welfare of the stannaries
of that county.

The chief provisions of the statutes are made for

•i.' of regulating the enjoyment of tin-works,

that is of tin-bounds, as they are now called, and the

262 PERAMBULATION OP DARTMOOR.

blowing or smelting of tin ore. On the first head, the
most remarkable enactment is one which forbids any
one to become the owner of tin-works who possesses
landed property worth more than £10 per annum, ex-
cepting those who claim them in their own freehold.

To what extent such a by-law, affecting all ranks of
the king's subjects and not merely the tinners by whom,
or whose representatives, the law was made, may well
be doubted, and it is questionable whether it has ever
been enforced. But it very clearly indicates the class
of persons who were at this time considered to be alone
entitled to the antient franchises claimed by the tinners,
viz., working or labouring tinners, who pitched their
tin-bounds lor the purpose of effectually extracting the
ore and supplying the blowing-houses.

The provisions for entering a description of the
bounds at the Stannary Courts, and for using certain
marks to distinguish the quality and ownership of the
smelted tin, are reasonable and have long been in
operation in Cornwall.

The exclusion of professional legal advisers from
practising in any Stannary Court is also peculiar to this
Parliament, and entitles it to the name of the Par-
Uamentum indoctum, assigned to a Parliament once
held in this country. It is also a law which has pro-
bably never been enforced.

HISTIHIK'U. IIIU'I MKN'IS.

Carta Johamiis Gun/'tis Morcton de fores ta Deeonia.

Johannes Comes Morcton omnibus hominibus et amicis suis
Francie et Anglie presentibus et futuris Salutem. Sciatis me con-
cessissc redidissc et hac carta mea confirmasse comkibus baronibus
militibus et omnibus hbere tenentibus clericis et laicis in Devenesir'
Hbertates suaa foreste quas habueruut tempore Henrici Regis proavi
mei. Tcnendas et habendas itlis et beredibus suis de me et heredibus
meis. Et nominatim quod habeant arcus et pharetras et sagittas in
lis deferendas extra reguardum foreste mee et quod canes sui
vel bominum suorum non siut espaltati extra reguardum foreste et
quod habeaut canes suos et alias Iibcrtates sicut melius et liberius ilka
habueruut tempore ejusdem Henrici Regis et reisellos suos et quod
c.vpiaut capreolam vulpem cattum lupum leporem lutrum ubi-
cunque ilia iuvenerint extra reguardum foreste mee. Et ideo vobis
firmiter precipio quod nullus eis de hiis vel aliis libertatibus suis
molesti.im ini'crat vel gravamen. Hiis tcstibus. Willelmo Warescall.
Willelmo Comite Sarisbir. Willelmo Coraite de Vcrn'. Stephano
Kidell CiiiK-ellario ineo. Willelmo de Wenn\ Hamon de Valoin'.
Bogero de Novoburgo. Iugelr' de Pratell. Roberto de Mortem.
Waltero Maltravers'. Radulpbo Morin. Waltero de Cautelo. Fulcon*
fratre suo Gileberto Morin' et multis aliis.

Copied from tbe original Charter, under the seal of the Earl, in
the possession of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter.

Before 27 May, I Hn. ou which ■:■> lie «<u crowned.

Carta Regis Johannts de Comilatit DeoOMO) deaffurestando.

Johannes Dei gratia Rex Anglie Dominus Hibernie Dux Nor-

mannie et Aquilanie Comes Andegavie archiepiscopis episcopis
ubbatibus comitibus baronibus justiciariis forestariis vicecomitibus
prepositis ministris et omnibus baillivis et fidelibus suis salutem.
Sciatis nos dcafforcstasse totam Dcvoniam de omnibus que ad forestam
et ad forestarios pertinent usque ad metas antiquorum regardorum
de Dertemora et Exemora que regarda fucrunt tempore regis Henrici
primi : ita quod tota Devonia et homines in ea manentes et heredes
eorum sint deafforestati omnino et quieti et soluti de nobis et here-
dibus nostris iuiperpetuum de omnibus que ad foreslam Ot ad
forestarios pertinent execptis duabus moris prcnominatis scilicet
Dertemora et Exemora per predictas metas. Volumus eeiam et con-
ccdimus quod predtcti homines de Devonia ct heredes eoruni habeaut

264 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

consuetudines intra regarda morarum illarum sicut habere consue-
verant tempore predicti regis Henrici faciendo inde consuetudines
quas inde facere tunc consueverant et debuerant. Et quod liceat eis
qui voluerint extra predictas metas essartare, parcos facere, omnimodam
venationem capere, canes arcus et sagittas et alia omnimoda anna
habere, et saltatoria facere, nisi in divisis predictarum morarum ubi
non poterunt saltatoria vel haias facere. Et si canes eorum excur-
rerint in forestam nostram volumus quod ipsi inde deducantur sicut
et alii barones et milites inde deducuntur qui sunt deafforestati et
qui marchiant alibi foreste nostre. Et volumus quod unus turnus
vicecomitis tantum fiat per annum in comitatu Devonie et ille turnus
fiat post festum Sancti Michaelis ad inquirendum placita corone et
alia que ad coronam pertinent sine occasionibus alicui faciendis, et
quod plures turnos non faciat nisi pro placitis corone cum evenerint
attachiandis cum coronatoribus et propter pacem assecurandam ; ita
quidem quod in itinere illo nichil capiat ad opus suum. De prisonibus
vero [qui capti] fuerint in comitatu Devonie de quibus vicecomes habeat
potestatem eos replegiandi et quorum plegiagium comes Devonie
voluerit super se capere. Volu[mus et concedimus quod] per consilium
eorum replegientur ; ita quod per odium vel occasionem vicecomitis
ulterius in prisona non clctineantur. Et si vicecomes injuste grava-
verit predictos homines Devonie et inde convpctus] fuerit incidet in
misericordiam nostram et nos de eo misericordSam capiemus et alium
vicecomitem eis substituemus qui eos bene et legaliter tractabit.
Teste Domino Hereberto Sarum Episcopo. Galfrido nlio Petri Comite
Essex. Baldewino Comite Albemarlie. Willelmo Comite de Fferariis.
Henrico Comite Hereford. Willelmo de Braos' Hugone de Nevill.
Willelmo Briwer. Simone de Pateshull. Data per manum Domini
Simonis Cicestriensis electi apud Wynton decimo octavo Die Maii
anno regni nostri quinto. (18 May, 5 John, 1204.)

Rotuli Chartarum in turri Londinensi, p. 132. The parts be-
tween brackets are effaced in the original.

No. III.

Writ by the King directing the Bailiffs of Lidford to permit the
tinners of Devon to take fuel on the moor.

Rex baillivis de Ledeford salutem. Precipimus vobis quod per-
mittatis stagnarios nostros Devonie capere et habere carbonem in
mora nostra de Dertemore ad stagnariam nostram sicut habere con-
sueverint tempore domini Johannis patris nostri et nostro, nee eis
inde faciatis vel fieri permittatis molestiam vel impedimentum. Teste
apud Turrim London. 18 die Julii. (6 Hen. III., 1222.)

1 Rot. Claus., p. 505, (printed edit.)

lUSTOHM AL DOCWmtB is.

Pre decima Herbagii Dertemori-e ccchsia? Saudi I'l-trw/ii tlr
Lttdeford conce&sa.

Rex dedit et concessit Deo ct ccclesie Sancti Fetrochi de
I.iiilri'inil et capellano ministrando in eadem ceclesia ad sustentationcm
suam quicumquc pro tempore ibidem capcllanus fncril decimam
herbagii more de Dertemor' In cujus Bei &c. Teste ut supra. Teste
Rege apud Wildest ok. 12 die Julii

Et mandatum est Ilerbcrto filio Mathei quod pcrsone ejusdein
eoeleaie dramas predictas haberi faciat. Teste ut supra.

Rot. Patent, 21 Hen. III., mem, 6, (1236.)

ptramitiiatiof,

J'acicnt/a inter Foreslam tie Dertcmorc
it alius tctras.

Rex vicecomiti Dcvonie Salutem. Sciatis quod dilectus frater
noster Ricardus Comes Pictavie el Cornubie pro parte sua ct Hcnricus
de Mercton, Hamelimis de Eudon, Robertus de Halyun, et Willelmus
le Pruz, pro parte militum et libere tenencium habencium terras et
feoda juxta forcstam ejusdem comitatus de Dertemore posuerunt se
coram nobis in pcranibulacionem inter terras eorum et predictam
forestam ejusdem comitatus faciendam et ideo tibi prccipimus quod
si alii de comitatu tuo habertus terras cognoverint coram te et coram
custodibus placitorum corone nostrc quod prcdicti quatuor milites
de consensu aliorum omnium posucrint se in perambulatiouem illam
pro omnibus aliis tunc assumptis tecum duodecim legalibus militibus
de comitatu tuo in propria persona tua accedas ad forestam et
terras prcdiclas et per eorum sacr amenta fieri facialis perambu-
lalionem inter predictam forestam et terras predictas; ita quod
pcnimbulatio ilia fiat per certas metas et divisas. Et scire nobis
facias ubicunque fuerimus distincte et aperte sub sigillo tuo et per
quatuor milites ex illis qui perambulation! illi interfucrinl per quas
i divisas peramlmlatio facta fuerit et habeas ibi nomina
militum ct line brevc. Teste Rege apud Westmonnstcrium decimo
tcrtio die Junii.

Rot. Claus., 13 June, 24 Hen. HI., (1240.)

266 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

No. VI.

Perambulation of the Boundaries of Dartmoor Forest, made under
the above commission, 24 Henry III., A.D. 1240.

Hec est Perambulatio facta et ordinata per commune consilium
Ricardi Comitis Cornubie et Pictavie et militum et libere tenendum
in comitatu Devon per precdptum domini Regis Henrici filii Johannis
anno coronationis dicti Henrici vicesimo quarto in vigilia sancti
Jacobi apostoli per sacramentum militum subscriptorum, scilicet,
Willielmi de la Brewer, Guidonis de Bretevyle, Willielmi de
Wydeworthy, Hugonis de Bollay, Ricardi Gyffard', Odonis de
Treverbyn, Henrici filii Henrici, Willielmi Trenchard, Fhilippi
Parrer a Nicholai de Heamton b Willielmi de Moreleghe, et Duranti
filii Botour, qui incipiunt perambulationem ad hogam de Cossdonne et
inde linealiter usque ad parvam hogam que vocatur parva Hundetorre,
et inde linealiter usque ad Thurlestone, et inde linealiter usque ad
Wotesbrokelakesfote que cadit in Tyng, et inde linealiter usque ad
Heighestone, c et inde linealiter usque ad Langestone, d et inde line-
aliter usque per mediam turbariam de Alberysheved, « et sic in
longum Wallebroke et inde linealiter usque ad Furnum regis et inde
linealiter usque ad Wallebrokeshede et sic in longum Wallebroke
usque cadit in Dertam, et sic per Dertam usque ad aliam Dertam, et
sic per aliam Dartam ascendendo usque Okebrokysfote/ et sic ascen-
dendo Okebroke usque ad la Dryeworke, et ita ascendendo usque ad
la Dryfeld ford, et sic inde linealiter usque ad Battyshull? et inde
linealiter usque ad caput de Wester Wellabroke et sic per Wester
Wellabroke usque cadit in Avenam, et inde linealiter usque ad Ester
Whyteburghe et inde linealiter iwque ad la Redelake h que cadit in
Erme et inde linealiter usque ad Grymsgrove et inde linealiter usque ad
Elysburghe et sic linealiter usque at crucem Sywardi et inde usque ad
Ysfother et sic per aliam Ysforther et inde per mediam Mystor'
usque ad Mewyburghe et inde usque ad Lullingesfote * et inde usque
ad Rakernesbrokysiote, et sic ad caput ejusdem aque et deinde usque
ad la Westsolle et inde linealiter usque ad Ernestorre et inde linealiter
usque at vadum proximum in orientali parte capelle Sancti Michaelis
de Halgestoke et inde linealiter usque ad predictam hogam de Coss-
donne in orientali parte.

VARIOUS READINGS.

a Probably, Perer. / Okbrokefote.

b Probably, Highhampton. g Cattyshyll, or Guattishuli

c Henghcston. h Rodelake.

d YessetoDe. t Mistmore.

e Aberesheved. k Hullingssete.

HISTORICAL IHK'liMKNTS.

Extract from the licgfxter of Bis/top JVatter Bronescombe.
13 Kalends of S>:ptember [20 of August] 1260. Folio 16, A.

Exivit littcra univcrsis &c. Episcopus &c. Fide dignorum
assertione intelligences quod qiiidaui parocbiani ecclesie de Lideford
villulas que dicuntui Balbenye et I'ushyll inbabitantcs adeo distant ab
eorum ecclesia matrice predicta, quod cum pre nimia distantia nulls
modo visitare possunt quocies eis fuerit opportunum, dilecto filio
officiali archidiaconi Totton nostris litteris dedimus in mandatis, ut
facta inquisitione solemni in pleno capitulo ejusdem loci, nos litcratorie
reddct certiores, an homines predict! ad crcctionem sufficerint oratorii ;
item que parochialis ecclesia villulis ipsis vicinior existat; necnon
iidem homines sine prejudicio juris alieni audire divina ct ecclesiastic a
percipere valeant sacramenta ; et quanta eedem villule distant a
matrice ecclesia predicta ; et si tempestatibus et inundationibus aquarum
exortis, parochianis ipsis mairiccm ireW.^kim predictam visitare volen-
ti bus via longior debcatur. Cumque per certificationem officialia memo-
rati invenerimus, quod incolis ipsis ad const rue tioncm oratorii minime
nuilicientibus, parochialis ecclesia de Wydecombe Wis ipsis plus aliis
omnibus est vicina, et quod loca predicta a matrice ecclesia de Lideford
sereno tempore per octa, et tempestatibus exortis in circuitu per
quindecim, distant miliaria; salutem animarum sicut non debemus
negligcre ulla ration e voleutes, ecclesiarum ipsarum rectores ad
nos tram lecimus presentiam evocari: rectoribus igitur prcdictis coram
nobis constitutis, et exposito eisdem hujusccmodi pcriculo, ac de ex-
presso consensu utriusque ecclesie patronorum, ordinationi nostre se
supponentibus, prom ittentib usque bona fide voluntati nostre parere in
hac parte ac nostram ordinationenT'pre dictam observaie in perpotuum,
de consilio prudentium virorutn nobis assistentium tauter ordinavimus,
videlicet, quod predictorum et adjacentium locorum incolis sic in
unitate sue parochialis ecclesie do Lideford perpetuo remanentibus, in
ecclesia de Wydecombe imposterum divina audiant ct omnia in vita
et morte ecclesiastics percipiant sacramenta. In coopertura et fabrica
ecclesie tie Wydecombe, clausura cemctcrii, subsidio luminarium et
deferendo pane benedicto cum ipsis ecclesie parochialis contribuant:
consuetudincs ipsius ecclesie in visit ationibua infirmorum, benedict-
ionibus nubentium, in ptirgationibus post partum, in baptismatibus

Sarvulorum, in mortuariis et sepultuiis morientium observent :
'iferant quoque ibidem solemnitcr tcr in anno et decimam nihil-
ominus agnorum eidem esclesic cum intcgritate persolvant. In signum
vero subjectionia et agnitionem juris parochialis, quilibet incola dic-
toruni locorum terram tenens semel in anno, videlicet die sancti Petroci,
in ecclesia de Lideford solemnitcr offerat et omnes deciraas et obven-
tiones majores et miuores, hiis duntaxat exceptis que supcrius enun-
ciantur, matrici ecclesie sue de Lideford sine qualibet diminutioue et
contradictione persolvant. In cujns, &c.

268 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

No. VIII.

Extract from an account rendered by the ministers of Edmund, Earl

of Cornwall, 25 Edw. I, A.B. 1296-7.

Lydford.

Rents of Assize. — The same (accountant) renders account of
50s. 5^d. of assized rent this year.

Sum £2. 10s. 5£d.

Issues of the Manor. — The same renders account of 30s. for a
water-mill let to farm ; of 3s. 5£d. for toll of the fairs this year ;
of toll of tin a on the waste of Lydeford nil that year ; of 12s. 9d.
from amercements of the borough this year; of 21s. from stray colts
and bullocks this year ; of 2s. 2d. from censarii for having liberty. b

Sum £3. 9s. 4Jd.

Fines. — The same renders account of 6s. 8d. from Richard
Smith of Lydeford for iron carried away from the Earl's castle.

Sum 6s. 8d.
Sum total £6. 6s. 5f d.

Dertemore.

Rents of Assize. — The same renders account of 75s. of assized
rent per annum.

Sum £3. 15s. Od.

Issues of the Forest. — The same renders account of 33s. 4d.
from the farm of a water-mill there this year; of 14s. 6d. from
mortgable c ; of £4. Is. 8d. from the fines of vills rf for having pas-
ture for their cattle ; of 15s. lOd. from 96 folds this year, viz. from
each fold 2d. ; of lis. 3d. from 27 colliers e this year, viz. from each
collier 5d. ; of 15s. 6£d. from 2442 cattle agisted and tended by the
shepherds of the Lord Earl there this year, viz. for each head of
cattle ljd. ; of 33s. 3d. from 399 cattle at farm near Okehampton
this year ; of 8s. for the farm of the said cattle as demised by the
bailiff this year; of £15. 17s. 7Jd. from 2141 cattle returning to
fold/ this year, viz. from each head of cattle 1 Jd. ; of £4. 14s. from
487 horses feeding there this year, viz. for each horse 2d. ; of 3s. from
36 folds of Lydeforde and Waterfalle near Lydeforde this year ; of
8d. from the rent of censarii for having the advowson 9 ; of 2s. 3d.
from pannage of pigs this year.

Sum £45. 3s. Id.

a In original " tollon' stagm,' " i.e. tolloneum or tollnetum stagminis.

b " De cells' pro libertale habenda." Whether this was a census paid for enjoying
certain immunities or privileges) or was a capitage paid in respect of exemption from per-
sonal servitude, is not clear ; — a class of tenants was always called censers, or censarii,
and are still named in some of the drift warrants.

c " De mortuo gabulo," called mortgable or more-gable in later records, probably
payments for dead wood.

d " De finibus villarum."

t " De carbonariis," explained in later accounts to mean diggers of turf or peat
for fuel.

/ Averiis redeuntibus ad faldam.

g It should seem that at this time the advowson of Lidford parish was on farm to
certain tenants paying census or rent.

HISTORICAL DOCVMEKTS.

sea

'erqutsttes [of Courts.] — The same renders account of 2s. 6d.
from Richard Rys and three others* for trespass; of 18s. from
William Batoshelle and two others for the same ; of 2s. from William
rector of Beleston and two others for default and trespass ; of 12d.
from the same William for false claim ; of 12d. from Ralph de Combe
for having had his dog in the forest in fence time;' of 12d. from
Antonine Martin for horses not entered in writing;-' of 12d. from
Antony de Foddreford for oxen not entered; of 12d. from Richard
of the same place for like cause; of 12d. from the parson of Beleston
for the like ; of 12d. from Jordan de Lukcsmore because he, whom
he vouched to warranty, was not forthcoming;* of 2s. from John
Lnccok and three others for cattle not entered; of 12d. from William
parson of Beleston for oxen not entered; of 5d. from John Waghe-
berd and six others for divers trespasses ; of 2a. 2d. from John
Attewode for the same ; of 2s. 5d. from John Adam and five others
for the same ; of 4s. from Michael Cole and three others for the same ;
of 12d. from John de la Torre for foolish delivery; of 12d. from
William the Carpenter for cattle not entered ; of 2s. from John de la
Torre for trespass ; of Gs. from Joel Kyr and three others for trespass
in the wood ; of 2s. from Geoffry de la Woghcbye for concealment ; f
of 6s. 8d. from Elyas de Cristenestowe because he was found in the
forest in fence time ; of 3a. 9d. for the heriot of Richard le Sopcre ;
of Gs. 8d. from the same Richard for ingress ; m of 2s. of William
Lutereford and another for trespass; of 2s. from Henry de la Hurne
for many defaults; of 2s. from the same Henry for foolish delivery
of cattle;" of 6s. 8d. from Richard le Syneger and two others for
ingress ; of 6s. 8d. from Richard le Yunglyng for ingress ; of 3s. 9d.
from the same parties for reliefs; of 5s. from Henry Penystrang and
Adam de Cadetun for trespass ; of 2s. from William de Hevytru for
contempt ; of 2s. from Robert Atteheved for twenty oxen not en-
tered ; of 5s. from Roger Repe and nine others for horses and cattle
not entered ; of 6s. 8d. from William Attewelle for cattle not entered.
Sum 102s. 5d.
Sum total £5-4 0a. 6d.
Allowances. — The same accounts in tithe paid to the parson of
Lydeford 60s. ; in the stipends and " poutura" ° of the foresters per
annum 42s. ; in their expences in fence month 22s. ; in peutura of

* '• Ric. Rys ct trihus sociis suis." In the«e i<
defendants.

i " In tempore prohibito."

J " Pro equis Don scriptis." The usage has always been lo enter cattle in (he books
of the clerk of the forest before they are tumid on the forest,
k " Quia Hon habiiil quam vocavit ad wurranliam."
/ That is for not presenting oflences at the lord's court,
m " Fro ingressu," i.e. for admittance on alienation or descent to • customary lenc-

* " Pro film deliberationo iveriorum," meaning, possibly, an amerciament for
tymenl.

ii drink provided for l lie shepherds, also spelt " ptutura."
2 H

270 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

twelve shepherds tending the agisted cattle from the Feast of the
Invention of the Holy Cross (Srd May) till the Assumption (15 Aug.)
52s. 6d. ; in stipends of the same 24s.

Sum £9 18s. 6d.
Debet (or clear balance) £44 2s. Od.

No. IX.

Extract from patent roll, 5 Edw. IV., containing an additional
grant to the tinners of Cornwall of turbary and pasturage in Dartmore
Forest.

[After reciting that the moors and woods of the county of
Cornwall had been so much wasted, that fuel for melting tin could
not be obtained in sufficient quantities, or at reasonable prices, and
that the coinage had consequently fallen off three hundred marks
and more, the King proceeds to grant, for himself and his successors,
to the tinners for the time being now or hereafter] Quod ipsi et
servientes sui infra forestam nostram de Dartemore in Comitatu
Devon ad libitum suum ingredi et intrare et turbas in eadem foresta
in quocumque loco sibi placuerit fodere et succindere, et carbones
inde facere, et eos sic factos abinde in comitatu Cornubie ad hujus-
modi stannum suum ibidem fundendum in carrettis sive summagiis
vel aliter ad libitum suum, tociens quociens eis placuerit, cariare,
abducere et asportare valeant licite et impune absque impeticione
* * * * unacum pastura ad animalia sua in eadem foresta pascendum
tempore cariationis, abductionis et asportationis hujusmodi ibidem
existentis: proviso semper quod stannatores predict! solvant pro
hujusmodi turbis fodiendis et succidendis et pastura prout stannatores,
sive aliquae alia? persona? forestam predictam in casu consimili occu-
pantes, solverunt et solvere solebant, et non aliter nee alio modo in
futuro. T. 7 Feb. [A.D. 1466.]

Printed in the Case of " Vice against Thomas," Append., page 30.

No. X.

Abstract of Minister's accounts rendered anno regni regis Henrici
Septimi 18vo., 1502-3. { Translated from the original in the Aug-
mentation Office.)

Lydeford Borough. — Account of the Reeve there.

Rents of Assize. — Of free tenants (i.e. freeholders) 32s. lid.

From lands and tenements without the borough 25s. Id.

A customary payment called " Foldepeny," pay-
able at Michaelmas 2s.

IIIMiHMiAI. jiix:i;mknts.

271

Increased rent for the pasture round the castle
as contained in the court roll, 23 Edw. III.,

1346 12d.

Farm of the Mill 22s.

Issues of Fairs. — From the fair on the feast of St.
Petrock and St. Bartholomew, Apostle, nil. this
year. In the reign of Edw. III. it produced .... I3s. lid.
Perquisites of Courts. — Pleas and perquisites of courts
this year 18d. as appears hy the court rolls.

Sum total of receipts £4 2s. Cd.
Out of which was paid to the Rector of the
church for tithe of agistment there and

throughout the Forest of Dartmore £3 Os. Od.

Clear receipts £1 2s. 6d.

Lydepord Manor. — Account of the Reeve.

Rents of Assize £7 15s. 5£d.

New Kent of John Peccombe 9d.

New rent of the hamlet of William dc Bihraugh
and Richard Drum for two acres of waste

inclosed 3d.

Similar new rents of small portions of land de-
mised, chiefly at will, by court roll in the
following places: — in Wellbrokeland, Dun-
briggeford (for life), Pillar des well, Ledtorre,
Leddercombe, Shirbonescrofte, Driablake,
Shirlyng, Ordehall, Brodemede, Pollardes-
wallen', Redegripp', Deri, Bromehill.
Farm of the Mill. — Demised to the whole homage . . 20s.
Gable Rent (redditus gabuli.) — For the custom called

" More gabuli" payable at Faster and Michaelmas 13s. 4d.
For a parcel of land in the waste of the lord of

Polleshill 4d.

Perquisites of Courts. — None here, because the forester
of Fast [Quarter] lias accounted for them ; nor is
there any account rendered here of moneys arising
from censar' [censaria?] of certain men dwelling
within the precinct of the Lordship, because the
same forester has accounted for them in the court
roll of the East [Quarter.]

Sum total £9 15s. Id.

Est. — Account of the Forester there (that is, of the

East Quarter.)

Arrears 2d.

Foreign Ri-nls. — For rent called " Fines Villarum "

E£b. lid. per annum payable at the feast of St.

John the Baptist, that is to say,

The vill (vUlata) of Chagford Is. Od.

272 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

8. d.

The hamlet of Tenkenhamhorne 4

The vill of Hereston 1 8

The vill of Litterford, in the parish of North

Bovey 4

The hamlet of Hokyn, the same 4

The hamlet of Kyndon 1

The hamlet of North Werthiehed, in the parish

of Whitecole [Widdecombe T\ 4 J

Another hamlet in the same parish [not named] . . 3

The vill of Shirwyll, in the same 8

The hamlet of North Catrowe, in the same .... 1 6

The vill of Higher Catrowe, in the same 3 7

The vill of Grendon, in the same 1

The vill of Fenne, in the parish of Chagford . . 4£

The vill of Jurston, [Jesson ?] the same 8

The vill of Willuhede, the same 5

The vill of Edworthie 6

The vill of Higher Jurston 3

The vill of Chalnecombe, in the parish of Manaton 6

New Rents. — New rent of two acres of moorland in
the forest of the Lord at Childrest, as demised to
Lawrence Hanneworthy to hold in the name of
Launde-bote according to the custom of the forest,
as appears in the court roll, 9 Hen. VI. (1430-1) 3d.

(Then follows a series of similar new-takes
in the forest, chiefly of single acres ; among them
is the following.)

The new rent of 3d. from John Wille, of
Hille, for the water-course of the Teynge within
the forest beyond the land of the forest, and at
the end of the lane, to the mill of the said John
at Southill within the parish of Chagford, to have
to him, and his heirs according to the custom of
the forest, rendering yearly 7d. as appears in the
court roll* 11 Henry VII. (1495-6.)

Agistment within the Forest. — For agistment of 1785

beasts agisted in this bailiwick going to fold with- £ 8. d.

out the forest,? viz. from each head Id 11 15 7$

For agistment of two heifers at 2d. a head 4

Customary payment of 5d. a head

For 36 Colliers digging turves to make coal for sale 15

For agistment of 60 sheep at |qr. a pair? 1 10J

p In older records the words stand thus : — " agistamentam averiomm agistatornm
infra forestam euntium ad faldom extra forestam in eadem balliva, et averiomm agista-
tornm in eadem balliva euntium ad faldom infra forestam." Compot. 29 Edw. III.

y 7£d. per score in modern presentments.

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.

273

For attachment of 39 men trespassing with their

cattle witluu the bailiwick, from each 3d., by

custom, as shown by a bill of record in the

£

s.

d.

9

9

Issues of the Manor. — " Censar " of 22 men dwelling

within the forest of Dartmore for having the liberty

of it, scilicet, from each 2d. by ancient custom r . .

3

4

Perquisites of Courts. — Pleas and perquisites of two

courts leet, and eleven other courts, this year,

3

2

8

Sum total

£18

15

H

Deductiotis.

Fees and Wages. — Stipends of two foresters ; of a

" prffihurdarius " • to keep the cattle at the prey

[pra?da] of Dunnabridge ; of the clerk writing down

the particulars of cattle agisted on the moor, and

assisting the foresters at the said drift over the

whole moor on divers occasions.

This part of the account is closed by parti-

culars of money paid over to the proper officer

of the Duchy, and of fines respited.

West. — Account of the forester there (i.e. of the

West Quarter.)

£

s.

d.

11

u*

The vill of Brighteworth in the parish of Mewe »

7

2

2

3

2

The vill of Denccumbe, in the parish of Walk-

1

6

The parish of Ssmpford Spanley [Spiney] ....

1

1

5
5

The vill of Twyste, in the parish of Tavistoke . .

3

The vill of Margaret Land, in the same parish . ,

2

The new rent of one acre of land within the forest,

near Plympstappess, 6 b leased by court roll, 12

May, 14 Henry VII

u

r Tb» perhaps eiplaina the Lydeford account 25 Edward I. ante. N

.riii.

Im

early account* this census is treated ad a capitation tax on residents, no

having land of

the lord.

m This seems to ha the person now called the prior, Le. chief herdsman.

( The name of the rills vary in some of the records.

■ Sbtiiigh. a Heavy. "■ Goodameary. j' Heavy. y

SWpstor :

i Petertavy. no Cndliptown ? hb Plynuttpa.

274 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Agistment within the Forest — For the agistment of
999 cattle agisted within the bailiwick, going from
the fold without the forest, &c. [Then follows a
series of entries like those of the East Quarter,
and under the same heads, differing only in the
number of colliers or cattle.]

Perquisites of Courts. — Similar to those in the East
Quarter.

Sum £9 12 2

Deductions for wages of Foresters and €€ Prae-
hurdarius," and for payments, as in the East
Quarter.

South. — Account of the forester of the South Quarter.

Foreign Rents. — For rent certain called fines of vills,

that is to say 1 16

The vill of Helle 18

The hamlet of Stouton, in Buckfastlegh parish . . 17

The vill of Skyridon,«« in the parish of JDene . . 7

The vill of Ugbirough 5

New Rents. — Under this head are various new grants of
small customary tenements as in the East Quarter.

Agistment within the Forest.— Agistment of 1830 beasts

going from fold without the forest 11 8 9

[Under this head are other entries like those
in the East and West Quarters.]

Perquisites of Courts 3 15 10

Sum total £17 8 lOf

Deductions and payments follow, as in the
other Quarters : at the foot of the account occurs
the following entry of some importance as regards
the commons adjacent to the forest, formerly known
as the Commons of Devon.

€€ Afterwards he (the forester) is charged with
l^d. being new rent of Thomas Rawe, John Beare
and others for one acre of land on the common
of Devon, lying neare to Yerme between Erme
Found and Quyocke Bemefote,<*<* to hold to them
according to the custom of the forest of Dartmore,
as appears by the court roll there of 16 Henry VII.,
and with l£d. of new rent of Thomas Hanne-
worthie, John Cole and others for one acre of land
on the common of Devon, lying in the east part

ce Scyredon or Shiredon. dd Quickbeamfoot

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.

of the Erme between Hortelake and Whitcpytte,
to hold to them according to the custom of the
manor and forest, as appears by the court roll
•foresaid."

North. — Account of the forester there (i.e. of the
North Quarter.)

Foreign Rents. — 22s. lOJd. for fines of villa, viz, —

The vill of Throulegh £0 2 6

The vill of Collerowc, in the parish of Chagford 7|

The parish of South Tawton 7 4J

The vill of Sele " 6j

The parish of Bclston 3

The vill of Hallestoke 2 6

The parish of Sourton 4J

The parish of Briddestowe 2

The vill of Willesworth 2

Agistment within the Forest. — Agistment of 1397 beasts

going from the fold witlrin the forest 8 18 7J

(The other entries are similar to those in
the other quarters.)

Perquisites of Courts 1 15 8

Sum total £18 14 0J
The deductions are as in the preceding Accounts.

Sundry miscellaneous extracts from Court Rolls of the Manor of
Lidford and Forest of Dartmore.

West Dartmore. — Law Court of the Manor and Forest held
on Monday next before the Feast of St. Luke, 8 Edw. IV., 1468.

The Bailiffs are amerced for default in not distraining Reginald
Cole and others to answer to the Lord the King for enclosing, em-
parking, and appropriating two hundred acres of land of the com-
mon pasture of Devon at Sodilburghill and Dastamehilt, between
the rivers Erme and Aune, to the great damage, &c.

Walter Bradmore amerced for entering on the King's moor
without license and digging for turves and coal for eight years last
past, and selling the same aud carrying it off from the moor to places
without Venville.

Bailiffs amerced for not distraining Thomas Thurusldon to
answer for keeping eight beasts on the forest and common of Devon
for seven years without license, &c.

tt South Zenl.

Ltfbcrf, 18 EAr. l\\ 1479.

L aaff, tor permitting
ac Scatemmv^eaileal Abhors Gate, to be nmoas,

ec- amerced jmnMimgly.
aH the ralb fcr not keeping

forever the

them in the

comon of

■, contray to the

to the prejadice of die

Wat LHP**.— Law C*m of the Vaar ai Forest, 16 May,
L,ltiM.

^ar wax Iiii'hirii Rarhanfa fcr cutting tarres in the
fcr one fwhahtttng ant of YeariiBe, against the custom and to
destrnctm of the land of the forest : He b fined Is. 6d.
*1 Sepc, 6 Janes L, 1606.

of the inhabitants of Wa|wworthie fcr permitting
Wapsworthie hedge, near the forest, to be m decay: — also of carers
not inhabiting within YeamOr, fcr ih laatiniiir sheep in the

Xo_XIL

The Pre$aUmemi of Ae Jury «r a Shmw O&mrtfr He Fores* mf

Drtmort, A J). 1609.

At a courte of Surrey holden at Okhampton in die countie of
Devon the xrith daye of August in the sixth yexe of the raigne
of oar most grarJons Sor'raigne Lord James by the grace of God of
England France and Ireland Kinge Defender of the myth &c and
of Scotland the forty second, before Sr. Willm. Strode Knight,
Richard Connocke Esquire Auditor of the Dntchie of Cornwall,
Kobe Moore Esquire and Kobe Paddon Gent., Commissioners by
virtue of a commission from his said Ma^ to them and others directed
bearing date the daye of in die flrrth yere of his

said Ma 1 ***- most happie Kaigne concerninge the SurTey of direr*
honors castles mannors messuages lands tenem*** ffor es te s chases
parks and other promts belonging to the said Dutchie of Cornwall as
by the same Com'ission under the great seale of England more at
lardge doth and maye appere ; The jurors then and ther retouroed
scil 1 - Edward Skirrett, Walter Hele, Roger Cole, Henrie Burges,
Richard Edmond, Gregory Gaye, John Bickford, Hugh Elfbrd, John
Masye, Roger Drake, Walter Lillicrappe, John Chubbe, Stephen

ff Stafldoo b cl wtt n lac Emc and lac

HISTORICAL Hill IMKMS.

Taverner, Andrew Haywood, Roger Wickett, Will™- Searcll, Rob L -
Hannaford,Jt>lui Wille<i,,Inlin llete. Waller Tnokermarj, Will' 11 ' Madge,
William Ilbert, Thomas Turges, Eilies Harryes and John Parnell,
all wch. being sworen to enquire of the boundes and limitts of the
Forrest of Dartmoore and of all such p 9011 - and p«ons. as have in-
terest of com'on there and w'l>- what beastes and at what tymes and
and what other com'odities the same p sun - and psuns. may
■nullie have and take w<"- in the said fforest and niaunor of Lidford
and what profh'ts and com'odities doe from them yerclie come unto
his ma'i e - and to the Lord Prince for the same — And lykewyse what
other landea and teneni 18 - royalties rightes estrayes and proflitts do
belonge unto his said ma 1 ' 8 - and Lord Prince lyinge adjoininge and
nere to the said Forrest and what right title or occupacon ante p so "-
or p»°u*. do clayme or ought to have of and in the same and what
yerelie proffitts do arrise and growe out of the said landes and lyke-
wyse what offences trespasses and misdemeanures are com'itled and
donnc w'l>- in the said Forrest and lands and by whom: The said
jurors nppon good testymonie showed then: witnesses sworne, and
uppon their own knowledges do p'sent upon the'r oathes as followeth:
FFIRST they p'sent that the bounds of the f forest of Dartmoore as they
the said jurors do fynde partlie by the coppies of auncient recordes
pilie. uppon the evidence of other p'sons and partite uppon their owne
knowledge but espceiallie as the boundes have beene and arc used
and accustomed to be these as follows. — Beginning at a high hill

ging in the north quarter of the said fforest called at this day
osdon, al's Cosson, and in the old records written Hoga de Costdonne
and from thence lincallie eastward by estimacon one mile or more
unto little houndetorr web- in the said records is called (hoga de
parva houndetorr) and from thence lincallie to a place named in the
said records Thurleston, now as they suppose called "Waterdontorr
being about three quarters of a myle from Houndtorr aforesaid, and
from thence near a myle to Wotesbrookelake foote w cl '- falleth into
Teyngc and w(^ lake they thincke to be the same w«l>- is now called
Whoodelake, att w cb - place they accompt the ?«orth Quarter to end;
and from thence nere one mile to Hingeston, al's Highstone, in the
I I'V lyinge near ffernwurthie hedges, and from thence lineallie
nere one mile to Yestou, al's Geston, now com'onlie called Hethstone,
and from thence lineallie thorough a fennye place now called Turfehill,
but named in the old records per mediam turbariam de Albereeheved,
to a place called Kinge's Oven and in the said record namely Furnuni
Regis, and from thence to Wallebrookeheade and so alonge by Walle-
until it fall into caster Dart and so downwards by the said easter
Dart to another Dart called wester Dart and from thence ascendinge
by the said west Dart uoto Wobrooke foote wher the east quarter
endeth ; and from thence liny all ie ascendinge to Drylake, al's Drye-
Woorke, and from thenee ascendinge by Drylake unto Crefeild il'ord
or Dryefeild ford and from thence to Knattleburroughe, w«!>. they
take to be the same that is called in the old records (iuatteshill, and

278 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

so from thence descending linyallie to Wester Wellebrooke headd
and so by the same Wester Wellebrooke untill it falleth into Owne,
aTs Aven, and from thence linyallie to Easter Whitaburrowe and from
thence liniallie to Redlake foote whir it falleth into Erme, and from
thence liniallie ascendinge unto Arme headd, w cn - they take to be a
place named in the said records Grimsgrove ; and from thence to
Plimheadd, where the South quarter endeth ; and from thence linyallie
to Elisboroughe and from thence linyallie to Seaward's Crosse and
from thence linyallie to little Hisworthie and so from thence linyallie
to another Hisworthie and so from thence linyallie through the midst
of Mistorr moore to a rocke called Mistorrpan, and from thence
linyallie to Dedlakeheadd w^*. they thincke to be the next bound w^
is called in the old records Meuborough, and from thence linyallie
northwardes to Luntesborowe, w ch - they thincke to be the same that
is called in the records Lullingesete, and from thence linyallie to
Wester Redlake between w ch - said two bounds the wester quarter
endeth; and from thence northward to Rattlebrooke foote and soe
from thence to the headd of the same Rattlebrooke, and so from
thence linyallie unto Steinegtorr 99 and from thence linyallie to
Langaford, al's Sandyford, and so from thence linyallie to the ford w* 50 -
lyeth in the east syde of the chappie hh of Halstocke and so from
thence linyallye unto the said hill called Cosdon, al's Cosson, wher
they did begin.

2. It m - they do also p'aent that the 6oyle of dyvers moores,
com'ons, and wastes, lyinge for the most parte aboute the same forrest
of Dartmoore and usuallie called by the name of the Common of
Devonsheere, is parcell of the Dutchie of Cornwall, and that the fibsters
and other officers of his ma lie - and his progenitors Kinges and
Queens of England have alwayes accustomed to drive tne said
commons and wast growndes and all the commons, moores and waste
of other men (lyinge in lyke manner about the said fforest) home to
the come hedges and leape yeates rounde aboute the same Common
and fforest, some few places onlie exempted, and that the said ffosters
and officers have taken and gathered to his male's, use at the tymes
of dryft within the same commons such proffitts and other duties as
they have and ought to do within the said fforest ; how be it they
intend not herebye to prejudice the particular rightes w« h - anie persons
do clayme for themselves or their ten'nts in anie commons or sev'all
growndes in or adjoyninge to the said common or fforest, but do leave
the same to judgment of the lawe and to the justnesse of their tytles
w cn - they make to the same.

3. It m - more they do present that all the Kinge's ten'nts w^- are
Venvill have accustomed and used to have and take tyme out of
minde in and uppon the forrest of Dartmoore all thinges that maye
doe them good, savinge vert (w ch - they take to be greene oke) and

gg Sic in orig.
h h This chapel is in the parish of Okehampton, and is dedicated to St Michael.

nisToiticAL documents.

279

. payinge for the same their VenviJJ rents and other dues as
hath bene tyme out of mynde accustomed, and doinge their suits and
services to his ma l '«- courtes of the mannor and forrest of Dartiuoore
aforesaid, and also exceptinge night rest, for the wch. everie one of them
have of longe tyme out of mynde yerelie payde or ought to pave
iiW> commonlye called a grasewait, and also to have and take tyme out
of mynde common of pasture for all manner their beastes, shepe, and
cattle in and uppon all the moores, wastes, and com'ons, usuallie called
the Common of Devonshere, and also turves, vagges, heath, stone, cole
and other thioges according to their custombes, payinge nothinge for
" but the renttes dues and services aforesaid, neverthelesse
their meanings is that the Venvill men ought not to turne or put into
the said fforrest or common at anie tyme or tymea anie more or other
beastes and cattell then they can or mayc usuallie winter in and
uppon their tenements and growndes lyinge within Venvill.

■J. It m - further they p'sent that no stranger ought to turne or
put to pasture into the said forrest of Dartmoor anie sheepe or pigges,
and that such strangers as have donne so have been usuallie presented
at Lidford for the same, and that the owners of such pigges as have
subverted and spoyled the soyle of the said forest are often presented
for the same at Lidford and so are to be fyned by the steward there.
And as touchinge the dryftes made yerelie in the said fibres t and
commons adjoymnge for his Ma ll *> they referre it to the forrest men
being also tcn'nts of the forrest and manor aforcBaid w**- have
presented the same, w tu ' the orders and custombes thereof.

5. It" 1 - they do present that one Edward Ashe in the sommer
tyme 1607 was at Sampford within venvill (by his ownc confes-
sion) at the rowsinge of a stagge and was at huntinge of the same
dere with houndes till he was kild about Blanchdou, w 1 *' was not
lawful to be doune without license.

6. It" 1 - further also they do present that Will" 1 - Chastie (by his
owae confe*svon) kild a Btagge w">- a pecc or gun nere a month
since about Blacktorrebeare (wca. j 5 part in the fforest of Dartmoore
and part in Venvill) and that he did it for S r - Thomas Wys * • • •
and delivered the same to the said S r - Thomas at his house at Siduham,
at w el1 - tyme he told him that lie had kild the same dere in the fforest.

7. It 1 "- also they present that all the wast growndes, moores and
commons w=l>. have bene heretofore claymed by the auncesters of
Gamaliel Slanninge Esquire and arc scituate lyinge in the west parte
of the boundes aforesaid, that is to saye, from Elisboroughe unto
Seaward's Crosse from thence to little Hisworthie, from thence to
great Hisworthie and from thence to Mistorpan and from thence
extendinge towards theauncient corneditches, are parcell of the Dutchie
of Cornwall ; without w cl1 - auncyent corne ditches, that is to saie to-
wards the ibrrest, the auncestors of' the said Gamaliel Slanninge have
caused to be erected certayne bowses and have enclosed some parcells
of the said wast grownde, and that he or his tenants do now use and
occupie the same to his or their owne use ; the whole contayningc

280 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

by estimacion ten thowgand acres as it is specyfied in the exem-
plificacion of a judgm*- geven against Nicholas Slanninge Esquire
ancestor of the said Gamaliel for the same wastes and moores in the
ixth. yere of the raigne of Quene Elizabeth.

[From a copy certified by the keeper of records at the Duchy
of Cornwall Office.]

No. XIII.

Extract from the Parliamentary Survey of the Borough of Lidford,

made 27 August, 1650.

A Survey of the Borough of Lidford with the rights mem-
bers and appurt 8 - situate lying and being in the Co. of Devon part of
the Duchy there and parcell of the possessions of Charles Stewart
late Duke of Cornwall but now settled in trustees for the use of the
Commonwealth held as of the manor of East Grenwich in free and
common Soccage by Fealty only — taken by Edward Hore, -George
Crompton, George Gentleman, Gabriel Taylor and George Goodman
and by them returned the 27 Day of August 1650.

Lidford Castle.

The said castle is very much in decay and almost totally ruined.
The walls are built of lime and stone within the compass of
which wall there is four little roomes whereof to are above stairs the
flore of which is all broken divers of the chiefest beames being fallen
to the ground and all the rest is following, only the roof of the said
castle (being lately repaired by the Prince and covered with lead)
is more substantial than the other parts.

The scite of the said castle with the ditches and courte contain
half an acre of land of which the Borough of Lidford holdeth the
court at the will of the Lord for which they pay the yearly rent of
twelve pence. The said scite is valued to be worth at an improve-
ment besides the aforesaid rent per ann. 5s. The stones about the
castle are not worth the taking down, but there are divers parcels of
old timber which we value to be worth de claro 6£. There is one
part of the tower leaded containing 1445 square feet, every foot
containeth (by weight) nine pounds in all thirteen thousand eight
hundred and ninety five pounds which at a penny halfpenny a
pound cometh to eighty six pounds sixteen shillings and tenpence
halfpenny, but consideration being had to the taking it down and the
portage, we reprise, six pounds sixteene shillings tenpence halfpenny,
so then it amounteth to, de claro, £80

HISTORICAL UIICLMI.N I'S.

881

Rents of Asshe. — The Quit Rents or Rents of Assize of the said
Borough doe amonte to yearly the sum of £3 r 1 : 4 part of
which said rents (viz. 3£j is paid to the Rector of the Parish of
Lidford in lieu of all the tithes of the Forest of Dartmoor*
so yi. ye. cleare rent accruing to the Lord amounteth to the
yearly rent of one shilling and four pence l 8 : 4.

Rett I of the Fairs. — The said Burrough doth pay to the Lord for
the (aire that is yearly held there viz. at the Feast of St. Bar-
tholomew, the sum of one shilling and six pence per ann. 1* : 6.

Ale Rent. — There is also paid by the said Burrough for Ale waigbts
the sum of twelve pence per annum I s .

So that the whole rent which the said Borough payeth to
the Lord, with the one shilling for the Castle grecne, amounteth
to per annum £0 4s. lOd.

[From a copy certified by the Keeper of Records at the
Duchy Office.]

No. XIV.

Terrier of the Parish of Lidford, A.D., 1727.

The Inhabitants within the manor of Lidford pay their Tithe
Lambs and all the Surplice Fees and Mortuaries to the Vicar of
Withycombc. All their other Tithe is due and payable in kind to
the Rector of Lidford excepting the Tithe herbage of barren
cattle kept and depastured in the reputed forest or waste of
Dartmoor for which the sum of three pounds is yearly paid at
Michaelmas to the said Rector out of the Prince's high rents issuing
out of the Borough of Lidford. 4. May 1727.

Thomas Bdrnafobu, Rector
Stephen Maddaford, Churchwarden
Valentine Pliillips, Side man.

(Extracted from the Episcopal Registry Exeter.)

" Ordres and decres set doicne anno 10 JJenrici VII. for the
Tijiaif Workes," A.D. 1494. [from a record in the Treasury of the

Exchei/utr]

Ad magnam curiam Stannarionim tentam apud Crockerntor
undecimo die mensis Septembris anno Regni metuendissimi Domini
nostri regis Henrici septimi decimo coram magistro Johanne
Arundell, clerico, prepotcntissimi principis domini Arthuri Chris-
tian tissimi Regis predicti priniogeniti Principis W alii a: Ducis

282 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Cornubiae, Comitis Cestri et Flynt, cancellario, Magistro Roberto
Frost elemosinario, Willielmo Uvedale milite, cameras ejusdem Prin-
cipis Thesaurario, magistro Hugone Oldom, clerico, et sociis suis com-
missionariis dicti Frincipis in Comitatu Devoniae deputatis ac coram
Johanne Sapcote milite, deputato custodis sive gardiani Stannariorum
in comitatu predicto. Quaedam actus, statuta, et ordinaciones pro bono
commodo, utilitate, et tranquillitate Stannariorum in Comitatu Devoniae
predicto per viginti quatuor Juratores de Chaggeford, viginti quatuor
Juratores de Aysshperton, viginti quatuor Juratores de Tavistock, et
viginti quatuor Juratores de Plympton, quorum nomina, unacum
dictis actibus, statutis et ordinationibus, inferius inscribuntur, inactitata
edita, stabilita, et auctoritate dictae curiae constructa et approbata
in forma sequent!.

[Here follow die names of 24 Jurors for each Stannary.]

Qui quidem Juratores dicunt presentant et inactitant prout
sequitur :

Be it enacted and establysshed by the hole body of the Stayniery
in the high Court of Crockerntorr That no person neyther persones
having possession of londes and tenements above the yerly value of X£
nor noone other to theyr use be owners of eny Tynwork or parcel
of eny Tynworke. But suche as have Tynneworkes or parcell of
Tynnworkes by inheritaunce from their auncesters or such as have now
any Tynworkes in peasible possession by lawfull title or hereafter shall
have within their owne frehold.

Also that no abbot, priour, neyther ony spirituall person nor
noone other to their use be owner of eny Tynneworke or parcell of
eny Tynneworke but as be or hereafter shal be in their owne freholde,
other then suche as they have now in peasible possession by lawfull
title.

Also that no warden of Staynierey, underwarden, steward, neither
understeward ne clerke of the court of the Staynierey, bailyff or
underbailyfF of Staynierey, neither no forster ne under forster of the
More nor none other to their use be awner of eny Tynworke or par-
cell of eny Tynneworke but such as have the saide tynneworke or
parcell of a Tynneworke by inheritaunce from their auncesters or suche
as have now eny Tynneworke in peasible possession by lawfull title.

Also yf ony person or persones be owners of eny Tynneworke or
parcell of ony Tynworkes contrary to theyes foresaide acts after
Mighelmasse cometh twelvemoneth, that then he or they shall forfaite
to the Prynce for every Tynnework that he or they beth so owners
of, XX£, and the said tynworke or parcell of ony suche tynworke be
forfeited to the said Prince.

Also that from hensforth every Tynner that herafter shal pithe

liiSTuRK ai !)(« i mi;m~.

tsa

ony tynworke that at the next lawe court after such pithe made,
the same pither shal entre the hole bondes of the same tynworke in
the same court and the name therof and as well to put in the names
ai all those that such pither hath named owners in the same worke
and this uppon paync of XL shillings to be forfaited to the Prince ;
and whosoever pithe contrarie to this that then his pithe be voide.
And that for eny such entre of ony suche bondes no payment be
made therfor to warden, steward, steward's clerke or ony oder.

Also that th'owners of everye blowing howse shal bryng a cer-
ten marke of his blowing howse to the court of the stayniery within
the precinct wher the said blowing howse is sett byfore that ony
tynne shall be marked withal], to the entent that al suche markes
may be drawen in a boke which shall remayne in the same court And
all tynne to be blown in the same howse to berc the same marke and
the marke of the owner. And if it shall happen from hensforth ony
marchaunt to bye eny false tynne and su to be disseyved, that yf he
bring to the court the marke of the blowyng howse and of the
owner in metall, let him come theder with sufficiant evidens and
prove that the tynne wheruppon the said marke was sett was false
and uutridy medelyd, that they [then] incontinently the Prince's officers
for the tyme being shal make seiche by the said boke who be owners
of thoes markes and geve notice of their names to the warden or his
deputie at the cunage in opyn court, and he forthwith shal committ
theym to warde that oweth the markes and the blowers, and to compell
theym to satisfye the marchaunt of al suche hurt and damage as he
hath take by such false tynne, and then the blower to remayne in
ward and make fyne as shall be thought resonable by the Prince and
his councill. And that no money be payed for entre of ony marke in
to the said boke to warden, steward, or steward's clerke or ony oder.

Also that every owner of tynne that shal bring tynne into any
blowing howse to be bloweu and fyned shal bryng a certen marke in
to the said court ther to be put in a boke, as is afore rchersed, upon
paync of X£ to be forfaited to the Prince, without ony payment
makyng therfor as is afore said.

Also that no suche owners shal chenge their marke soo ones
marked and emprynted in suche a boke, neyder use eny oder markes
without a reasonable cause shewed and approved by the warden or
his deputie at the cunage in opyn court, and also that the new markes
as they entend to use to be entred and marked in the same boke
withouten ony monev paying. And yf ony tynne be founde having
no markes or marked with ony oder marke then is comprised in the
said boke, that then all suche tynne be forfaited to the Prynce.

Also that no man from hensforth make no synder tynne after
that it is wartered, be it allayed with oder tynne or not allaide, or eny
oder manner of harde tynne without it be marked with this letter H
as well as with the markes of the owners and blowing bowses, uppon
payne of forfaitour thereof, th'one half to the Prince and th'oder half
to the ffynder.

284 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

Also yf ony man from hensforth shall arreare and make eny new
or chaunge his blowing howse, or ony new man entre into ony suche
how6e, that then he shall not occupie the saide howse unto tyme he
hath browght his marke to be drawen in a boke at the next court as
is before rehersed without eny thyng paying, uppon payne of X£
to be forfaited to the Prince.

Also that from hensforth ther shal no man learned in the lawes
spiritualle or temporalle plede nor be a counsell to make bylle, plee
or answer in ony court of the Stayniery uppon payne of XX £ to be
forfaited th'on half to the Prince and th'oder half to them that wille
sue the same.

Also be it' enacted that no Tynner nor Tynners be in no wise
reteyned with no maner man of what degre or condicion he be of
by othe, promise, signe, token, liverey or fee, then suche as be menyall
servaunts according to the lawes as is permitted, whatsomever he be
shall forfaite unto the Prince every moneth XX shillings and the
receyver XL shillings.

Provided allewey that it be lawfull to every person, what pos-
session he be of, to pi the, occupie, and enjoye ony tynnework or tynne-
workes within ther owne frehold, ony acte or actes above rehersed or
made notwithstondyng.

Et nos Princeps prescripts omnia et singula actus statuta et
ordinaciones predicta jure prerogative nostra? ac cum matura deli-
beracione et advisamento consilii nostri ratificamus approbamus et
confirmamus ac ab omnibus et singulis stannatoribus et aliis homi-
nibus nostris firmiter observari in forma suprascripta volumu* et
preecipinius sub pena incmnbente. Man dantes insuper gardiano custodi
sive senescallo Stannari© nostras predict® et omnibus aliis officiariis
nostris ac eorum deputatis quod omnia et singula actus statuta et
ordinaciones prescripta observent et observari iaciant et execucioni
demandent sicut decet. In cujus rei testimonium preseritibus sigillum
nostrum apponi fecimus. Datum apud castrunvnostrum de Ludlowe
tercio die mensis Aprilis anno supradicto.

LYDFORD LAW,

By William Browne.
Supposed to have been written A.D. 1644. *

I oft have heard of Lydford law,
How in the morn they hang and draw,

And sit in judgment after.
At first I wonder'd at it much,
But since I find the matter such,

As it deserves no laughter.

They have a castle on a hill ;
I took it for some old wind-mill,

The vanes blown off by weather.
To lie therein one night 'tis guess'd
'Twere better to be ston'd or press'd,

Or hangM, ere yon come hither.

Two men less room within this cave
-Than five mice in a lantern have :'

The keepers too are sly ones :
If any could devise by art
To get it up into a cart,

'Twere fit to carry lions.

When I beheld it, Lord ! thought I,
What justice and what clemency

Hath Lydford castle's high hall !
I know none gladly there would stay,
But rather hang out of the way

Than tarry for a trial.

• Reprinted from the last edition of Wbstcotb'b Devon, edited by Dr. Oliver
and Pitman Jones, Esq.

2 o

286 PERAMBULATION OF DAKTMOOK.

Prince Cbtrles a hundred pounds kadi sent
To mend the leads and ptanehings* njpft

Within this firing tomb ;
Some forty-five pounds more had paid
The debts of all that shaD be laid

There tffl the da j of doom.

One lies there for a seam of malt,
Another for two pecks of salt.

Two sureties for a noble.
If this be tree or else false news
Yon may go ask of Master Crews, f

John Vanghan or John Doble. %

Near these poor men that lie in lurch,
See a dire bridge, a little church,

Seven ashes, and one oak ;
Three booses standing, and ten down,
They say the rector hath a gown,

But I saw ne'er a cloak.

Whereby yon may consider weM
That plain simplicity doth dwell

At Lydford without bravery ;
And in that town both young and grave
Do love the naked truth to have,

No cloak to hide their knavery.

This town's enclos'd with desert moors,
But where no bear nor lion roars,

And nought can live but hogs :
For all o'erturn'd by Noah's flood,
Of fourscore miles scarce one foot's good,

And hills are wholly bogs.

And near hereto's the Gubbins cave ;.
A people that no knowledge have

Of law, of God, or men :
Whom Caesar never yet subdued ;
Who've lawless livM ; of manners rude ;

All savage in their den.

♦ Plaiichmg, a timber floor. This word is still in use, in the Devonshire vernacular.

f The Steward. % Attorneys of the Court.

LYDFORD LAW.

By whom, if any pass that way,
He dares not the least time to stay,

For presently they howl ;
Upon which signal they do muster
Their naked forces in a cluster,

Led forth by Roger Rowle.

The people all within this clime
Are frozen in the winter time,

Or drown'd with snow or rain ;
And when the summer is begun
They lie like silkworms in the sun,

And come to life again.

'Twas told me, ' in King Caesar's time
This town was built of stone and lime,'

But sure the walls were clay ;
And these are fall'n for aught I see,
And since the houses have got free,

The town is run away.

Caesar ! if thou there didst reign,
While one house stands, come there again,

Come quickly, while there is one ;
For if thou stay'st one little fit,
But five years more, they will commit

The whole town to a prison.

To see it thus, much griev'd was I ;
The proverb saith sorrows be dry,

So was I at the matter :
When by good luck, I know not how,
There thither came a strange stray cow,

And we had milk and water.

To nine good stomachs with our whigg,
At last we got a tithen pig,

This diet was our bounds ;
And this was just and if 'twere known
A pound of butter had been thrown

Among a pack of hounds.

287

£88 PERAMBULATION OF DARTMOOR.

One glass of drink I got by chance,
Twas claret when it was in France,

B„t now from it m«* wider; '
I think a man might make as good
With green crabs boiTd in Braiil wood
And half-a-pint of cider.

I kiss'd the Mayor's hand of the town,
Who, though he wears no scarlet gown,

Honours the rose and thistle.
A piece of coral to the mace,
Which there I saw to serve in place,

Would make a good child's whistle.

At six o'clock I came away,

And pray*d for those that were to stay

Within a place so arrant :
Wide and ope the winds so roar,
By God's grace Fll come there no more

Till forc'd by a tin-warrant

FINIS.

INDEX.

Aberheved, 125.

Abbot's Way, 146.

Aboriginal inhabitants, 14 ; dwellings

and villages, 41 ; bridges, 48.
Agricultural improvements, 21G.

■ capabilities, 211,
Albion of Aristotle, 52.
Amicombe Hill, 192, 193.
Answell Rock, 139,
Archerton, 173.
Arkite worship, 102, 179.
Armeton, (Ermington,) 16.
Ashbnrton, 139.

Asiatic colonization of Devonshire, 16.
Atlantis of the Antients, 52.
Avenue, or Paralellithon, 24, 78, 156,

168, 182.
Avon Head, 145 ; River, 146 ; course

of, 165.

B

Balbeny and Pushyll villages, 259.
Barat-anac, the Tin Country, 53.
Baredown, or Bairdown, Maen, 179 ;

Farm, 180; Bridge, ib.
Barrow and Cairn, 35.
Beacons in Devon, 69; Cosdon, ib.;

among the Jews, 70 ; Greeks, ib.

, Eastern, 148 ; Western, ib.

Becky Fall, 120.

Belerium, 61.

Beltor, 140.

Bellevor Tor, 172 ; Bridge, ib.

Bickleigh Vale, 163 ; Church, ib.

Birds of Dartmoor, 229.

Blackabrook, 156 ; Bridge, 181.

Black Tor, 146, 168.

Blackystone, 116.

Boringdon Camp, 160.

Bottor, 119.

Boundary lines or banks, 47, 130.

Boundary Cross, 126.

Bovey, North, 121 ; Heathfield, 124.

Bowerman's Nose, 122.

Bradmere, or Bradford Pool, 101.

Bridford Kistvaen, 117.

Bridges, Cyclopean, 48, 77, 172, 173,

180, 181.
Britons, Western, civilization of, 62.
— trade with Phoenicians and

Greeks, 54, 55, 56, 57.
Broadall Down, 153.
Brent, South, 147.
Brentor, 193.
Buckfast Abbey, 144 ; Leigh, ib.

Caesar's notice of pastoral habits of
Britons, 43 ; of their strongholds, 44 ;
of their metals, 57 ; of Druidism, 78,
96.

Carta Johannis Comitis Moreton, 263.

Regis Johannis, ib.

Cassiterides, noticed by Herodotus, 54.

Castor Rock, 80.

Chagford, 98.

Challacombe Down, 126.

Cherrybrook, 171.

China Gay works, near Shaugh, 155.

Chittaford Down, 174.

Cholwichtown Moor, 154.

Chudleigh, 119.

Clacywell Pool, 167.

Clanaborough, 71.

Clapper, 48, (note,) clam, ib.

Clatters, 67.

Coinage Rolls, 260.

Commons of Devonshire, 144, 261, 278.

Coryndon Ball, 146.

Cosdon Hill, 67 ; Beacon, 66.

Cowsic River, 179.

Clifford Bridge, 115.

2 P

290

INDEX.

Cranbrook Castle, 107.
Cranmere Pool, 74.
Crockern Tor, 169 ; Parliament, 261.
Cromlech, 30, 33, 134, 146, 160, 183.
Cocks Tor, 190.

Cornish Tinners, (turbary and pasturage
in Dartmoor,) grant to, 270.

D

Dart, source of, 76 ; course, ib. ;
two branches, East and West, ib. ;
scenery, 140 ; East, 141 ; West, 142.

Dartmeet Bridge, 141.

Dartmoor, and adjuncts, extent and
boundaries of, 2 ; perambulation, 65 ;
geological view, 203 ; mines and
stream works, 208 ; soil and agri-
cultural capabilities, 211 ; botany,
217 ; ornithology, 227 ; fishes, 237 ;
mining, 239 ; sanitary condition, 251.

Dean Burn, 144.

Deluge, traditions of, 19, 104.

Dennabridge Pound, 171.

Devonshire, natural divisions of, 1.

Doetor, 198.

Dracontium, or Serpent-temple, 22.

Drewsteignton, 98.

Druidism, similar to oriental religion,
17 ; to Arkite worship, ib.

Druidical temples, 21,

Duchy revenues from tin, 245, 263.

Dunsford Bridge, 116.

E

East Down, 121.
Eastern Beacon, 148.
Equatorial line of Dartmoor, 46.
Ernie head, 150 ; River, ib.; course, 165.
Eylesburrow, 164.

Fernworthy Hedges, 125 ; Circle, 78.
Fice'sWcll, 180.
Fingle Bridge, 106.
Forest bounds, 5 ; quarters, 5 ; drift,
6 ; tenants, 6.

Definition of, 217, 256.

Forts and Entrenchments, 49,
Fox Tor, 165.
Furtor, 191.

G

Geological character of Dartmoor, 7.

view of Dartmoor, 203.

Gertor, 192.

Gidleigh Park, 81.

Giant's Grave, 113.

Granite, natural gateway, 109.

Greeks of Marseilles, 54.

Grey Wethers, 23, 110.

Grimspound, 44, 127.

Grimslake, 127 ; Grimsgrove, 151.

Guile Bridge, Tavistock, 166, 189.

H

Hamildon, 129, 181; Tor, 129;

Beacon, ib.
Harford Bridge, 150 ; church, ib.
Heathfowl, 75.
Heltor, 96.
Henbury fort, 143.

Hessary Tor, South, 167 ; North, 184.
Heytor, 123.
Hingston Down, 66, 58.
Hoga de Cosdown, 65.
Holne Bridge, 140 ; Chase, ib. ; Lea,

143 ; Ridge, ib.
Holstock, or Halstock chapel, 201.
Houndtor, 123.

Iktis of Diodorus Siculus, 58.
Ina's Coombe, 190.

Jesson Rock-gateway, 109.
John, (King,) Charter of, 245.

K

King's Oven, 125, 178.

King Tor, 129.

Kistvaen, 84, 117, 123, 188, 141,

152, 172.
Knattleburrow, 145.

Lakehead Hill, 172.
Langcomb Bottom, 151.
Lee Moor, 155.

INDEX.

291

Leigh Tor, 140.

Lints Tor, or Limes Borough, 190.

Logan Stone, 26, 105, 139.

Longaford Tor, 175.

Longstone Rock Pillar, 78.

Lough tor, 171.

Lustleigh, 118 ; Cleave, ib.

Lyd River, course of, 76.

Lydford, (or Lidford,) antient extent
and importance of, 3 ; named in
Domesday, ib. ; issues of the manor,
268; Fall, 194 ; Bridge, 195 ; Castle,
196, 268, 280 ; borough and manor
accounts, 270 ; survey of borough
and castle, 280 ; terrier of, 281.

Lydford law, stanzas on, 285.

M

Manaton, 121 ; Maen-y-dun, 45.

Mardon Down, 112.

Marytavy, 192.

Meavy, 164.

Merivale Bridge, 185

Middledown, 109 ; Middlctor, 80.

Mineral veins, 209.

Mines and stream works, 208.

Mining, History of, 239.

Misletoe, in Devonshire, 177.

Mistor, Great, (or Pan,) 184; Little, ib.

Monumental relics, 20.

Moreton Hampstead, 111.

Mortgable, 259, 268 (note.)

Mount Tavy, 191.

N

North Devon, extent of, 1.
North Hall Manor, 137.
Nomadic habits of antient Danmonians,
43, 64.

O

Ockment rivers, East and West, course
of, 76 ; springs of, 77 ; union of,
199.

Ornithology of Dartmoor, 227.

Collections, 228.

Ockment, West, 198 ; East, 201.

Okelands, 199.

Okehampton, 199 ; castle ib. ; park,
200.

Pannage of pigs, 268.
Paralellithons, 78, 156, 168, 183.
Parliament, stannary, 281.
Parliamentum indoctum, 262.
Pasturage of cattle, 5.
Pen Beacon, 153 ; Pensheil, ib.
Perambulation, commencement of, 65 ;

writ for, 265 ; copy of original, 266.
Peter's Boundstone, 143.
Petertavy, 192.
Pisky, or Pixy house, 164.
Plague Market, 182.
Plants, catalogue of, 218.
Plym, course of, 58, 164 ; Head, ib.

Bridge, 163; Steps, 158.
Plympton Earl, or Maurice, 161 ; St.

Mary, ib.
Prestonbury, 50, 107.
Primitive implements of husbandry, 88.
Prince Town, 168, 253.
Prison of War, 247.
Presentment at a survey court, 276.
Post Bridge, 48, 173.
Pounds, or antient circumvallations, 44,

71, 79, 121, 128, 156, 168, 174.
Puckie Rock, 81.
Pewtor, 187.

Q

Quadrupeds, (wild,) 235.
Quarnian (or Quarnell) Tor, 178.
Quarters or bailiwicks, (temp. Hen.VH.)

260.
, bounds of, 164,

171, 192 ; accounts, 271.
Quern, or hand-mill, 81.

R

Rattlebrook, 76, 192, 198.

Reave of stones, erect, 131, 154.

Redlake foot, 145.

Rents of assize, (Lydford,) 268.

Rippon Tor, 139.

Rivers, source of, North Quarter, 76.

, South Quarter, 164.

Roborough Down, 164, 185.

Rock-basins, 28, 124, 185.

Rock-idols, 26.

Rock-pillars, 39.

Rocks, geological catalogue of, 206.

292

INDEX.

Rolls Tor, 185.

Roman camp, 156; road, 162.
Rowbrook circle, 140.
Rowtor, or Roughtor, 212.

S

Saddlebridge, 142.

Sacred Circle, 21, 72, 78, 110, 156,

183.
Sampford Spiney, 187.
Sanitary condition of Dartmoor, 251.
Scorhill Down, 72.
Shapely Common, 126.
Sharpitor, (Dart,) 140; (Erme,) 150.
Shaugh Bridge, 158 ; church-town, 160;

Common, ib.; Cromlech, ib.
Sheepstor, 164.
Shelstone Pound, 71.
Shipley Bridge, 146.
Sittaford Tor, 111.
Siward's Cross, 1 64.
Skair Gut, 142.

Sparrow-giass, when injurious, 111.
Soil and agricultural improvements, 211.
South Brent, 147 ; Beacon, ib.

Hams, extent of, 1.

Stanlake, 168.

Stapletor, Great, Middle, and Little, 1 85.

Stengator, 198.

Sticklepath, 66.

Stream-works, 208, 260.

Stannary enactments at Crockern Tor,

(Hen. VII.) 282.

Tamara, 63 ; Tamari Ostia, 59, 62.

Tamarwcorth, 59.

Tamerton, King's, 63.

Tavistock, 187, 188, 189.

Tavy, course of, 76, 188 ; valley of,

189, 190; Head, 191 ; Cleave, 192.
Taw, course of, 76.
Taw Marsh, 66.
Tawton Common, 111.
Teign, course of, 76 ; North, 73 ;

South, 80 ; scenery of, 1 1 6.
Teigncombe Common lane, 80.
Thirlstonc, 73.

Thornworthy Tor, 111.

Three Burrow Tor, 1 46.

Timber on Dartmoor, 175, 211, 217.

Tin Bounds, antient, 131, 261, 262.

Works, 55, 208, 260.

Tithes of herbage of Dartmoor, 265.
Tolmen, 83.
Torhill, 138.

Torry Head, 154; vale of, 161.
Tor Royal, 182.
Tracklines, 47, 124.
Trackways, 46, 138, 146.
Trowlsworthy tors, 156.
Two Bridges, 179.

Tynne Workes, orders and decrees for,
(Hen. VU.) 281.

Venville bounds, 4 ; tenures, 5 ; rights,

278.
Via sacra of the Druids, 96.
Vixen Tor, 185.

W

Walkham, course of, 76 ; vale of, 186.

Walkhampton, 186.

Wallabrook, 73, 141, 190.

Warren Tor, 126.

Warren, Trowlsworthy, 286 ; Dite-

worthy, ib.
Watern Tor, 73; Oak, 191.
Webburn River, 126, 127.
Whiddon Park, 109.
Whittaburrow, West, 145 ; East, 146.
White Horse Hill, 74.
WhithillYeo, 154.

Widdecombe,valeof, 133; church, 135.
Wilverly, or Warlwood, 189.
Wistman's Wood, 1 75.
Wooston Castle, 1 1 3.
Wobrooke, 145.

Yartor, 141.

Yealm Head, 152 ; course of, 165.

Yeo Bridge, 80.

Yes/or, 69, 198.

ROWE, PRINTER, PLYMOUTH.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF MORLEY.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD COURTENEY.

RIGHT REV. BISHOP COLERIDGE.

ADAMS, REV. JOHN, Stoke, Devonport.

ARMSTRONG, DR. ROBERT, Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth.

ARTHUR, REV. G. F., Tamertom

BAMPTON, A. H., Esq. Plymouth.

BAYLY, JOHN, Esq. Plymouth.

BARNSTAPLE LITERARY SOCIETY.

BARRY,— Esq. Newton.

BARNES, RALPH, Esq. Exeter.

BADCOCK, MISS, Stoke, Devonport.

BASTARD, E. P. R., Esq. Kitley.

BARTHOLOMEW, REV. ARCHDEACON, Exeter.

BEAMISH, J. CAULFIELD, Esq. Stonehouse.

BENSON, JOHN, Esq. Tavistock.

BERRYMAN, W. R., Esq. Devonport.

BESLY, REV. DR., Long Benton, Northumberland.

BEWES, REV. THOMAS, Beaumont, Plymouth.

BENNETT, J. N., Esq. Plymouth.

BENNETT, WM., Esq. Plymouth.

BERRY, JOHN, Esq. Chagford.

BOGER, D., Esq. Plympton.

BOND, THOMAS GEO., Esq. Exeter.

BONE, ALLAN BELFIELD, Esq. Devonport.

BORWELL, REV. J. H. C, Kingsbridge.

BRAY, REV. E. A., b.d. Vicar of Tavistock.

BROOKE, T. H., Esq. Plymouth.

BRIGGS, REV. J., Stoke, Devonport.

BUDGE, REV. EDWARD, Bratton Clovclly Rectory, Devon.

BULLER, REV. JOHN, Bridestowe.

BURNELL, JOHN, Esq. Plymouth.

BUTTER, JOHN, Esq., m.d. ■•

BULTEEL, DR. JAMES C, Plymouth.

BULLEN, MR. H., Tavistock.

BULTEEL, MISS, Bellevue % Plymstock.

294 subscribers' names.

BYBTH, REV. DR., Wallasey Rectory, Cheshire.

CALMADY, C.'B , Esq. Langdon Hall.

CARPENTER, MRS., Mount Tavy.*

CHAPPLE, MR. CHARLES, Stonehonse.

CHATER, GEORGE, Esq. London.

CHOMELEY, MR., Tor Royal, Tavistock.

CLIFFORD, MR., Exeter.

CLEVERTON, F. H. P., Esq. Plymouth.

CONDY, N. Esq., Plymouth.

COLSON, REV. H., Tavistock.

COLE, REV. JOHN, Sampford Spiney.

COPPARD, REV. WILLIAM L, Plympton St Mary.

COX, G. A., Esq. Kelly, Calstock.

CRABBE, RICHARD WILLIAM, Esq. Heavitree.

CURGENVEN, JOHN, Esq. Plymouth.

CUDLIP, WILLIAM BUNNEY, Esq. Tavistock.

DANSEY, GEO., Esq. Stoke, Devonport.

DAWE, J. H., Esq. Plymouth.

DA WE, JAMES, Esq. Stoke, Devonport.

DAVIDSON, J., Esq. Sector House, Axminster.

DEACON, JAMES H., Esq. Holwell House, Tavistock.

DERRY, DAVID, Esq. Plymouth.

DICKSON, SIR DAVID, Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth.

DOBNER, MR. THOS., Tavistock.

DRAKE, THOS. EDW., Esq. Exeter.

DUNSTERVILLE, COL., Plymouth.

EASTLAKE, G. S., Esq. Plymouth.
EASTON, NATH. J., Esq. Plymouth.
ELLICOMBE, JOHN B., Esq. Exetex.
ELLIOTT, HENRY, Esq. Exeter.
ELLIOTT, MR. EDWARD L., Tavistock.

FILLIS AND SON, MESSRS., Plymouth.

FORD, REV. JAMES, Exeter.

FOOT, MRS. W., Stoke, Devonport.

FOOT, CAPT., r.a. Tor, Plymouth.

FORTESCUE, JOHN F„ Esq. Plymouth.

FOTHERGILL, REV. H. G., Rector of Belstone, Devon.

FOX, SIXTH READING SOCIETY.

subscribers' names. 295

FOX, MRS. DOROTHY, Plymouth.

FREEMAN, RICHARD, Esq. Plymouth.

FULFORD, BALDWIN, Esq. Great Fulford.

FULFORD, BALDWIN, Junior, Esq. Deputy Forester of Dartmoor.

GARDNER, REV. J., Stoke, Devonport.
GILES, GEORGE, Esq. Jump.
GRAY, MR. JOHN, Callington.

HANNAFORD, MR. S., Totnes.

HARINGTON, REV. CHANCELLOR, Exeter.

HARRIS, JOHN JAMES, Esq. Lifton.

HARRIS, MR. JOHN, P. R. Launceston.

HARRIS, JOHN, Esq. Exeter.

HANCOCK, JOHN C, Devonport.

HATCHARD, REV. J., St. Andrew's Vicarage, Plymouth.

HINGSTON, ALFRED, Esq. Plymouth.

HITCHENS, J. H., Esq. Tavistock.

HOLBERTON, W., Esq. Plymouth.

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298 subscribers' names.

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